Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega
Salman, Preity excel
NADIADWALA Grandsons’ Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, is a straight lift-off from Priyadarshan’s Chandralekha, but is less interesting compared to the orginal. Director Raj Kanwar tries all the tricks up his sleeves to make the narrative engrossing, but he’s hampered, to some extent by the slow-paced screenplay, which makes the proceedings, especially in the second half, seem to be dragging. The director deserves to be commended for his efforts to spr-ing a few surprises in the film and extract better performances from the lead players. the music may well play an integral part, too, in sustaining the film at the b-o.

Raj (Salman Khan) comes from Goa to Mumbai to try his luck as a singer. He finds the dream of becoming a singing star quite tricky. Then an accident changes the course of his life: Pooja (Rani Mukerji) who marries Romy against her family’s wishes, crashes her car onto a railway track. Raj takes her to hospital and her family takes Raj as Romy, Pooja’s husband. Pooja slips into a coma. She can understand goes on around her but cannot react owing to the coma. Raj finds its difficult to adjust to the new role but somehow manages to stick around to fulfill his aspirations. The Oberoi family has good connections with the music industry and this helps Raj cut his first music album.

Enter Janvi (Preity Zinta) from abroad. She is the daughter of a business associate of the Oberois, but her bonding with Pooja is more like that of a sibling. Raj develops an immense soft corner for Janvi and tries to bare his heart to her. Janvi also starts liking Raj due to his antics but controls herself as she considers him to be Pooja’s husband. But the suspense is broken by Janvi’s father (Paresh Rawal) who reveals the true identity of Raj. In the meantime, Pooja comes out of her coma and has a liking for Raj. She wants to marry Raj whom the entire family still think of as Romy. All hell breaks lose when Janvi comes to know that Pooja also loves Raj. The tricky situation is solved when Pooja decides to sacrifice her love for Janvi’s sake, and Pooja marries a new man. His unrevealed identity contributes to the supsense during the breather and towards the end.

Performance-wise, Salman Khan does a good job. He portrays the role of Raj quite convincingly and his flair for streetsmart comedy is evident throughout the film. His terriffic screen presence comes in handy in the song and dance routine. But he ought to have used more restraint in his muscle-flexing act, which is hardly warranted in a film like this. Rani Mukerji has a very small role, which is too meagre for her to prove herself. But she is quite adequate in whatever scenes she has been given. Preity Zinta dominates the proceedings and the role could well prove to be her come-uppance. She is very natural and works on her emotions quite well in certain scenes. Shakti Kapoor provides some laughter, though he does go overboard in some scenes. Paresh Rawal as usual is good. Satish Shah as a music company owner, Niraj Vora as Raj’s chum and Kamini Kaushal as Pooja’s grandma lend able support.

Director Raj Kanwar has opted for a very simple story which needed good treatment. The narrative is disappointing. The screenplay seems to drag in the second half and there appears to be too many loose ends. Yet, the director scores with the some situational comedy. Writer Rumi Jaffrey requires to work more on his screenplay, to make the proceedings more lively till the end. Cinematography by WB Rao is excellent. Farah Khan’s choreography adds lustre to the film as the song picturisations are outstanding. Anu Malik’s music will be the key sustaining factor for the film, as all the tracks have mass appeal.

Padmaraj Nair