Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Still afresh...with raw romance!
While switching channels, I pleasantly bumped into this old classic on SET-Max and was attracted by it. The first time I had watched it, it was over a rented VCR and color TV in Delhi, during my eight grade:) Ididnt understand film-making at that time, but I remember I liked the feel of the movie. Also, I was not an Aamir Khan fan then, and even today, watching it, I actually wasn't much impressed by his acting skills; I only liked his cute looks and hairstyle. Juhi out-performed Aamir, she demonstrated nice acting as well as simplicity. Her character was submissive towards her Thakur parents, but very bold on love path, and Juhi essayed both the aspects effortlessly. But the movie actually belongs to the first-time director, Mansoor Khan. During the film, you get into the skin of the characters and start identifying with them...enjoying with them when they're romancing....feeling for them when they're in trouble. Movie treads along a solid script at a good pace, starting with the Rajput family tensions and moving into the light-hearted romance of the protagonists which forms into a gutsy love, taking on the family rivalry with courage. Its gutsy because Juhi falls in love without knowing about Aamir's family connection, but Aamir knows it all and still continues to love Juhi ...and Juhi sticks to her love even after discovering his family background...love is not just blind, its gutsy as well, right? A dialog that reverberated even after the movie was from Juhi to Aamir: 'Ajeeb si takdeer hai hamari, sari duniya mein bas tum hi mile the pyaar karne ko..' The side actors supported in performances as well...
Mansoor used the picturesque Mt Abu locations for picnicking and then the rocky terrain as a hideout to create natural visuals, appealing to the eye while complementing the theme of the film. Talking further about direction, I could see some scene creations and tactics which were repeated in Mansoor's subsequent movies (Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander and Akele Hum Akele Tum):
1) The use of Maruti Gypsi and how it enters a scene: Mansoor definitely loves the Gypsi. Aamir floats around with his buddies in a Gypsi in JJWS. Even in AHAT, you'll see a Gypsi entering the scene from behind when Aamir and his son are biking on a road. In QSQT, the gundas also use a green Gypsi and enter the scene same way when Amair and Juhi are walking on the road.
2) Kavita taking order over the phone from Aamir for the eloping plan (JJWS had similar actor performances when Aamir is taking the phone order for rope, cowdung, etc needed from Pooja Bedi for making fool of Deepaj Tijori).
All this aside, QSQT broke quite a few moulds, to name a few:
1) Nobody knew Aamir or Juhi before the film's release, or Mansoor, or the music directors Anand-Milind for that matter...Not just that, the lead male singer Udit Narayan was unknown as well. QSQT laid foundation to everybody's careers that went on to impact Bollywood in a positive way
2) Music is slow and heartening, instead of being loud...Songs don't have a zillion dancers jerking their bodies to the dance beats....Instead, the songs are more focused on expression of boy-girl feelings.
4) Lip kiss as a natural and sweet way of love-making was rarely depicted in Hindo cinema till then. Mansoor used it very nicely without making it look vulgar.
5) The key aspect I found was that it bubbled up a girl's inherent desire to initiate flirting if she has a flair for a boy, instead of waiting for the first steps from the other side. The night sequence in the jungle is a testament to this. (Keep in mind this was 20 yrs back, when movies depicted women as secondary).
6) The father-son relationship: did you note that Dilip Tahhil just hugged Aamir when he comes home after getting beaten by Juhi's father? Dilip doesnt say any word at all...
SET-MAX showed a few interesting tidbits, all of which are new to me:
1) The movie's publicity line was: who is Aamir Khan? Ask the girl next door.
2) After the bumper opening, the distributors announced that anybody buying more than 8 tickets will get autographed poster of Aamir and Juhi. It buoyed the movie's collections further.
3) The movie was made with 2 endings: sad and happy. Mansoor showed both the endings to get opinion. The elders liked the happy ending (conservative thinking), while the youth liked the sad ending. Game-changing Mansoor decided to go with the sad ending....I'm glad he did.
In sum, QSQT is a movie that was ahead in thinking, direction and presentation...and hence moved Bollywood forward. That is the real win of Mansoor Khan!
-Sanjit Singh Dang
Fremont, California
Nov 29, 2008, 10pm PST.
----------------------------------------
Please add your comments here (both positive and negative).
Visit my other site: aamir-khan.com.