Lamhe

Lamhe
Directed by	Yash Chopra
Produced by	Yash Chopra T. Subbarami Reddy
Written by	Honey Irani Rahi Masoom Raza
Starring	Anil Kapoor Sridevi Waheeda Rehman Anupam Kher Deepak Malhotra Dippy Sagoo
Music by	Shiv-Hari
Cinematography	Manmohan Singh
Distributed by	Yash Raj Films
Release date	22 November 1991 (1991-11-22)
Running time	187 minutes
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹6 crore (equivalent to ₹42 crore or US$4.8 million in 2019)
Box office	₹20 crore (equivalent to ₹139 crore or US$16 million in 2019)

Lamhe (translation: Moments) is a 1991 Indian romantic musical drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Honey Irani and Rahi Masoom Raza. The film stars Anil Kapoor and Sridevi (in a dual role as both mother and daughter) in the titular roles, along with Waheeda Rehman, Anupam Kher, Deepak Malhotra and Dippy Sagoo in pivotal roles. In the film, Viren (Kapoor) falls in love with Pallavi (Sridevi), but she marries Siddharth (Malhotra). However, Pallavi and Siddharth die in an accident, leaving behind, in care of Viren, their daughter Pooja (also Sridevi), who grows up to look just like her mother and falls in love with Viren. The film marks the second and final collaboration between Sridevi and Chopra after Chandni (1989).

Produced by Chopra under his production banner Yash Raj Films, Lamhe was shot in two schedules in Rajasthan, India and London, United Kingdom. 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's list of Bollywood's Best Films. It has been cited as Yash Chopra's personal favourite of the movies he has made. This was one of the last films that Masoom Raza scripted. He died a couple of months after its release. On the occasion of the Centenary of Indian Cinema in 2013, Lamhe featured among the Top Ten Romantic Movies Of 100 Years.

At the 39th National Film Awards, the film 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 Pratap Singh a.k.a. Viren (Anil Kapoor) comes to Rajasthan, India for the first time, where he is greeted by his governess Durgadevi, affectionately called Dai Jaa (Waheeda Rehman). His late parents had migrated to London, United Kingdom before he was born. Initially, Viren is put off by the hot weather and the customs of the region, but soon begins to respect the place and the people. Soon, he meets the beautiful Pallavi Thakur (Sridevi) and falls in love with her. Pallavi is the daughter of businessman Kothiwale Thakur (Manohar Singh), who had helped Viren's late father when his business was suffering. Viren and Pallavi become friends. However, upon noticing Viren's feelings for Pallavi, Dai Jaa indicates that Pallavi is older than him, which does not bother Viren.

After losing a legal dispute involving his property, Pallavi's aghast father dies of a heart attack before handing over Pallavi's responsibility to Viren. Pallavi goes into depression. Viren comes to console her at her father's mourning ceremony, but is shocked to find her run towards Siddharth Kumar Bhatnagar (Deepak Malhotra), an airplane pilot and the only man whom she loves. Viren is heartbroken, but reluctantly arranges Pallavi and Siddharth's wedding with the support of his childhood friend, Prem Anand (Anupam Kher), and Dai Jaa. After the wedding, Viren sadly moves back to London along with Prem, while Siddharth reveals Viren's feelings for Pallavi, which he had witnessed through his gestures at Pallavi's father's mourning ceremony.

A year later, tragedy strikes when Viren arrives in India after he gets the news of Siddharth and the pregnant Pallavi, unfortunately, being killed in a major car accident, but not before Pallavi gives birth to a baby girl, Pooja, in the hospital. The traumatized Viren sorrowfully performs Pallavi's last rites along with Dai Jaa, and returns to London with his heart filled with grief, after he entrusts Dai Jaa in the upbringing of Pooja.

In London, Viren spends time with his childhood friend, Prem Anand (Anupam Kher), and over the course of time, slowly gets back to reality and makes new friends, including a girlfriend, Anita (Dippy Sagoo). He visits Rajasthan every year for Pallavi's death anniversary and to also deliver birthday gifts for the young Pooja. He never spends time with Pooja because she was born the same day Pallavi died and the pain and the trauma of her death is still fresh in his mind.

20 years later, the now middle-aged Viren comes back to India for Pallavi's death anniversary and is shocked to see the now grown-up Pooja (also Sridevi) a spitting image of her mother. Viren feels that destiny is playing a cruel game with him, but still invites Pooja and Dai Jaa to his home in London. During their visit to London, Pooja develops a happy-go-lucky friendship with Prem and they implement childish ways to motivate Viren into enjoying life afresh. Pooja and Dai Jaa also meet Anita, who realizes how Pooja must be a constant reminder of Pallavi, and tells Viren that he should be ashamed of having feelings for a considerably younger woman, due to the fact that she resembles her late mother whom he loved. Meanwhile, Prem understands how much Pooja is attached to Viren, but is skeptical since Viren is still living in the past in the memories of Pallavi.

However, things take a turn when Pooja comes across Pallavi's pencil sketch made by Viren and believes it to be her own portrait when it is actually of her mother. She confesses her love for Viren, but a furious Viren reveals that he actually loved her mother. A humiliated Pooja tells Dai Jaa that she wants to return to India. After Pooja and Dai Jaa's departure, Prem advises a confused Viren to confront his feelings for Pooja, pointing out that Pallavi was the one who never loved him but Siddharth, while Pooja is the one who is Pallavi and "Siddharth's" daughter and has always loved him more than anyone else.

Back home, Dai Jaa persuades Pooja to get married, but she agrees on one condition that Viren must get married first. When Dai Jaa calls to let Viren know that Pooja has agreed to marry once Viren ties the knot, Viren agrees to marry Anita. Upon learning this, Pooja tells Dai Jaa that she never wants to marry. Back in London, Viren and Prem are wondering why Dai Jaa is postponing her visit to London. They decide to go to India and surprise her. Upon arriving, Dai Jaa tells Viren and Prem that Pooja has vowed not to marry. At her nightly sound-and-light show in Rajasthan, Viren confronts Pooja and reveals that he never wanted to marry Anita, since he had realised that he has developed feelings for Pooja due to her uniqueness, not because of her resemblance with Pallavi, and for the first time in life, Viren confesses his true love for Pooja and the two embrace as Prem and Dai Jaa happily walk into the scene. In the end, Viren and Pooja get married and move back to London.

Cast

• Anil Kapoor as Virendra Pratap Singh (a.k.a. Viren / Kunwarji)
• Sridevi as Pallavi Thakur Bhatnagar and Pooja Bhatnagar (as both mother and daughter in a dual rule)
• Waheeda Rehman as Durgadevi (a.k.a. Dai Jaa); Viren, and later, Pooja's governess
• Anupam Kher as Prem Anand; Viren's childhood friend
• Deepak Malhotra as Siddharth Kumar Bhatnagar; Pallavi's husband and Pooja's father
• Dippy Sagoo as Anita Malhotra; Viren's girlfriend
• Manohar Singh as Kothiwale Thakur; Pallavi's father
• Lalit Tiwari as Sudheshwar Narayan Tiwari
• Ila Arun as a folk dancer in the song "Chudiyan Khanak Gayi"
• Richa Pallod as Young Pooja
• Vikas Anand as Doctor Vikas; Pallavi's surgeon

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:

Song	Singer(s)
"Yeh Lamhe Yeh Pal"	Hariharan
"Yeh Lamhe Yeh Pal" (Sad Version)	Hariharan
"Mhaare Rajasthan Ma"	Mohinuddin
"Mohe Chhedo Naa"	Lata Mangeshkar
"Chudiyan Khanak Gayi" (contains excerpt of 'Mhaare Rajasthan Ma' in the introduction)	Lata Mangeshkar, Moinuddin and Ila Arun
"Chudiyan Khanak Gayi" (Sad Version)	Lata Mangeshkar
"Kabhi Main Kahoon"	Lata Mangeshkar and Hariharan
"Megha Re Megha Re"	Lata Mangeshkar and Ila Arun
"Yaad Nahin Bhool Gaya"	Lata Mangeshkar and Suresh Wadkar
"Gudiya Rani"	Lata Mangeshkar
"Meri Bindiya"	Lata Mangeshkar
"Freak Out" (Parody Song)	Pamela Chopra and Sudesh Bhosle
"Moments Of Rage" (Instrumental)	Instrumental
"Moments Of Passion" (Instrumental)	Instrumental

Reception, Analysis & 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' 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 film-maker "Yash Chopra's own favourite film, Lamhe ('Moments', 1991), divided the audience on a class basis: it was hugely popular with metropolitan elites and the overseas market, which allowed it to break even, but it had a poor box-office response (especially the repeat audience) because of its supposed incest theme." The Hindu reported that "With shades of incest, Lamhe caused more than a flutter and remained the talk of the town" while Sridevi herself admitted in an interview with Rajeev Masand that she found the subject "too bold." Rediff described its failure as "one of those bizarre, unexplained moments of cinema." Many film analysts, including Vikram Bhatt, felt that Lamhe was ahead of its time and if released at a later period, would have been a success.

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 Reza

Nominated

• Best Director – Yash Chopra
• Best Actor – Anil Kapoor
• Best Supporting Actress – Waheeda Rehman
• Best Supporting Actor – Anupam Kher
• Best Music – Shiv-Hari
• Best Lyrics – Anand Bakshi for "Kabhi Main Kahoon"
• Best Playback Singer – Male – Hariharan for "Kabhi Main Kahoon"
• Best Cinematography – Manmohan Singh

External links

• Lamhe on IMDb
• Bonobology.com: "6 Bollywood movies where the lead characters have had a huge age difference"