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Lamhe
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Wikipedia article
'Lamhe' (lit. 'Moments') is a 1991 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Honey Irani, with Rahi Masoom Raza. The film stars Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in lead roles, along with Waheeda Rehman and Anupam Kher in pivotal supporting roles. In the film, Viren falls for Pallavi, but she marries Siddharth. The couple dies, leaving behind their daughter, who grows up to look just like her mother and falls in love with Viren. The film marks the second collaboration between Sridevi and Chopra.
Produced by Chopra under his production banner Yash Raj Films, 'Lamhe' was shot in two schedules in Rajasthan and London. Over the years, it has been hailed as a classic and Chopra's finest film. Although the film did moderate business domestically, it became a huge success overseas, bringing in a worldwide gross of 20.5 crores on a 6 crores budget; thus becoming the 10th highest grossing Indian film of 1991. It received numerous accolades and featured on 'Outlook'
At the 39th National Film Awards, 'Lamhe' won Best Costume Design. At the 37th Filmfare Awards, the film received a leading 13 nominations and won a leading 5 awards Best Film, Best Actress (Sridevi), Best Comic Actor (Kher), Best Story (Irani) and Best Dialogue (Masoom Raza).
Plot
A young Virendra "Viren" Pratap Singh visits Rajasthan for the first time where he is greeted by his governess, affectionately called Daijaan. His parents migrated to London before he was born. Initially, he is put off by the hot weather and the customs of the region but soon begins to respect the people. He meets the beautiful Pallavi and falls in love with her. Pallavi is the daughter of a businessman who had helped Viren's father when his business was suffering. Viren and Pallavi become friends. Dai Jaa indicates that Pallavi is older than him, which does not bother him.
After losing a civil court case involving his property, Pallavi's father dies of a heart attack. Pallavi goes into depression. Viren comes to console her only to find her run to Siddharth, the man she loves. Viren is heartbroken but arranges her wedding to Siddharth and moves back to London. Tragedy strikes a year later when Siddharth and Pallavi die in a car crash. Their newborn baby, Pooja, survives and is placed in the care of Dai Jaa.
Viren spends time with his childhood friend, Prem and over the course of time, slowly gets back to reality and makes new friends, including a girlfriend and business partner, Anita. He visits Rajasthan every year for Pallavi's death anniversary, and to buy gifts for the young Pooja. He never spends time with Pooja because she was born the same day Pallavi died and the pain of her death is still fresh in his mind. However, a few years later, he ends up meeting the now grown-up Pooja and is shocked to see the resemblance she shares with her mother. Dai Jaa brings Pooja to visit London and meets Anita. Anita realizes that Viren may never forget Pallavi because of how Pooja is a constant reminder of her.
Pooja is unaware of Viren's feelings towards her mother and falls in love with Viren. Prem understands how much Pooja is attached to Viren but is skeptical since Viren is still living in the past. Anita realizes that Viren might be falling for Pooja and tells him he should be ashamed of having feelings for a considerably younger woman.
Pooja finds Viren's pencil sketch and misunderstands that it is her portrait when it really is her mother's. She confesses her love for him but a furious Viren reveals that he only loved her mother. A humiliated Pooja asks Dai Jaa to return to India.
Back home, Dai Jaa persuades Pooja to marry. Pooja agrees on the condition that Viren marry first. In London, Prem advises a confused Viren to confront his feelings towards Pooja. When Dai Jaa calls to let Viren know that Pooja has agreed to marry once Viren ties the knot, Viren agrees to marry Anita. Pooja now tells Dai Jaa that she does not want to ever marry. Back in London, Viren and Prem are wondering why Dai Jaa is postponing her visit to London. They decide to go back to India and surprise her. When they arrive, Dai Jaa informs them that Pooja has vowed not to marry. Viren confronts Pooja and confesses to her that he did not marry Anita since he realized he was in love with Pooja. They finally get married.
Cast
* Sridevi as Pallavi & Pooja Bhatnagar; (as both mother and daughter)
* Anil Kapoor as Virendra Pratap Singh (a.k.a. Viren / Kunwarji)
* Waheeda Rehman as Durga Devi; Dai Jaa
* Anupam Kher as Prem Anand
* Dippy Sagoo as Anita Malhotra
* Manohar Singh as Kothiwale Thakur (Pallavi's father)
* Lalit Tiwari as Sudheshwar Narayan Tiwari
* Deepak Malhotra as Siddharth Kumar Bhatnagar, Pallavi's husband and Pooja's father
* Ila Arun as a folk dancer in the song "Morni Baga Ma Bole"
* Richa Pallod as young Pooja
* Vikas Anand as Doctor Vikas
Music
The music was composed by Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia (together known as Shiv-Hari) and the lyrics were provided by Anand Bakshi. The song "Kabhi Main Kahoon" was made from a melody used as background music in Yash Chopra's 'Chandni' (1989), also scored by Shiv-Hari. In the famous parody sequence, Waheeda Rehman danced to "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai" her iconic number from the all-time classic 'Guide' (1965).
The songs included on the official soundtrack are listed here:
Reception, analysis and legacy
'Lamhe' is one of the few films that picked up the Filmfare Award for Best Film despite its moderate business in India. 'Lamhe' is also one of the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market and the video circuit. Sridevi received widespread critical acclaim for her double-role as mother and daughter, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actress among others. It was also listed in 'Outlook' magazine's list of All-Time Great Indian films. It has been cited as Yash Chopra's personal favorite among his films. 'Times of India' included it in its list of 'Top 10 Films of Yash Chopra' describing it as "'a tale of love transcending the boundaries of time and space'", while 'Rediff' called it "Quite easily one of his most definitive films, Chopra surpassed his own findings of romance with the insightful, lovely 'Lamhe'." Hrithik Sharma from 'El Viaje Reviews' says "The cinematography is a treat to eyes. Editing is crisp but with nearly 3 hours of run-time, it requires patience to watch the whole film. Only Yash Chopra could create this bold and unheard story in a way, that otherwise would have not been received well."
Sridevi played both mother and daughter in what 'iDiva' described as "another double-role but it was unlike any played before." Hailed by 'Rediff' as "one of the most remarkable films of her career... often considered a film way ahead of its time." Her performance brought her much acclaim with 'BizAsia' stating that "Her rendition of both Pallavi and Pooja serves well in highlighting how versatile she is as an actress, playing contrasting characters in the same movie." Speaking to Karan Johar about the making of 'Lamhe', Yash Chopra revealed, "When 90% of the London schedule was over, tragedy happened. Sridevi's father died... She came back after 16 days and had to shoot a comedy scene... At that moment, she forgot everything and gave a wonderful scene. I understood that is the secret of her success... Why she is what she is." Sridevi's folk dance number "Morni Baga Ma Bole" was placed among the Top 5 Songs of Yash Chopra by 'Hindustan Times'.
Over the years, 'Lamhe' has become a cult classic. Critic Rachel Dwyer wrote in her biography of the filmmaker "Yash Chopra's own favourite film, 'Lamhe' ('Moments'
Awards
;39th National Film Awards
*Best Costume Design Neeta Lulla, Kachins & Leena Daru
;37th Filmfare Awards
'Won'
* Best Film Yash Chopra
* Best Actress Sridevi
* Best Comedian Anupam Kher
* Best Story Honey Irani
* Best Dialogue Rahi Masoom Raza
'Nominated'
* Best Director Yash Chopra
* Best Actor Anil Kapoor
* Best Supporting Actress Waheeda Rehman
* Best Supporting Actor Anupam Kher
* Best Music Director Shiv-Hari
* Best Lyricist Anand Bakshi for "Kabhi Main Kahoon"
* Best Male Playback Singer Hariharan for "Kabhi Main Kahoon"
* Best Cinematography Manmohan Singh
References
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