Ishq

Two wealthy fathers want their children to marry within their class. The children do the opposite: the wealthy Ajay falls for Madhu, who has nothing, and the penniless Raja falls for the rich Kajal. The fathers intervene, schemes are laid, plans collide. The first half is comedy, the second is melodrama. Indra Kumar directs, with Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Juhi Chawla and Kajol. That the four of them are in one film is the main event. All four were among the biggest names in Indian cinema at the time, and they never appeared together again. It was one of the highest grossing releases of 1997. Anu Malik's songs sold heavily on their own and stayed in circulation for years independently of the picture. The structure is entirely faithful to the form: misunderstandings, disguises, class difference, and families capitulating at the end. Kumar makes no attempt to refresh it. He just runs it fast and loud. Who it is for: viewers who like nineties Bollywood comedy and the star casts of that decade. Who it is not for: it runs close to three hours and swings hard into emotion in the second half, where the women become largely the objects of the plot.