Decoding Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993)

Movie no. 8/100

May 9, 2018

For my 8^th outing in this movie challenge, I decided to revisit one of my childhood favorites, Director Mahesh Bhatt’s Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke. This romantic-comedy released in 1993 had Aamir Khan paired opposite Juhi Chawla, with a premise involving three difficult children. Interestingly, Aamir had not only acted in the movie but also co-written the screenplay. In a repertoire of serious and gritty cinema, Mahesh Bhatt has just two light-hearted films. The other one being Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi.

A young, college pass-out, Rahul (played by Aamir Khan) is made the guardian of his niece and nephews (played by Sharokh Bharucha, Baby Ashrafa and Kunal Khemu) upon the untimely death of his sister and brother-in-law. Not only is he forced into parenthood, he is also given the responsibility of managing his brother-in-law’s garment business. These kids are a menace and none of the maids he hires, survive their mischief and pranks. That is when the kids befriend Vaijayanthi (played by Juhi Chawla), a mischievous girl who runs away from home to escape being married to a feminine classical dancer, Natarajan. In a subplot full of hilarity, we have Rahul’s seductress collegemate, Maya (played by Navneet Nishan), who conspires with her father, Seth Bijlani (played by Dalip Tahil) to marry Rahul. Meanwhile, Rahul and Vaijayanthi fall for each other, while trying to manage the three children.

There is nothing extraordinary here – the camerawork, the screenplay, the direction, the music or the performances. They were all very good, but not superlative to make it an example of cinematic excellence. It was not opulent in terms of the budget, it did not have the typical 90s style stunts or fights and neither did it boast of a larger than life canvas. It was this sheer simplicity and the endearing characters, that made this movie a treat to watch. All the three kids, especially Kunal Khemu, were natural and in spite of their havoc-wreaking pranks, were extremely lovable. Aamir Khan delivers a genuine performance as the uptight and strict ‘father figure’, who learns the art of parenting from Vaijayanthi.  His is charming even through his awkwardness and helplessness. But, for me, it is Juhi Chawla who takes the cake, with her comic timing. She is hilarious and gets some of the best dialogues. Her energy and smile are infectious. One of my favorites is the scene at Rahul’s engagement. Her melodrama and over-the-top acting makes it an extremely comical scene, making her Filmfare Award for Best Actress a well-deserved one.

Also, on a serious note, I wish Bollywod went back to experimenting with such simple, urban, family comedies. What we see today is either a biopic (Dutt, Dangal, etc) or a multi-starrer comedy (Golmaal series) or indie-comedies set in the small towns (Bareilly ki Barfi, Shubh Mangal Savdhan). Wish we get more such feel-good, light and breezy movies.