Mujhse Dosti Karoge! (2001)

Oh, Mujhse Dosti Karoge. So much unnecessary melodrama all wrapped in candyfloss and served up with silly songs and well-timed divine intervention. And sometimes, that’s exactly what I want, so I watch MDK again. It’s a love story about some friends who have some very questionable notions about friendship and also fashion choices. (Sometimes I wonder what I would have thought about this movie back in 2001. Would I have been too cool for this sort of thing, or would I have loved Kareena’s fantastic pants?)

Raj

Best friends Tina and Pooja

The scene is set with three young friends. Raj is leaving for London, and saying goodbye to Pooja and Tina in Shimla. Raj has a not-so-secret crush on Tina, and Pooja has a not-so-secret crush on Raj. They promise to stay in touch, but when Pooja emails Raj, she signs it “Tina” to ensure a response. They continue their correspondence, and years later, when they’ve grown up, Raj and Pooja (who Raj thinks is Tina) have fallen in love over email. Raj has grown up to be Hrithik Roshan, Tina has grown into bubbly, hyper-fashionable Kareena Kapoor, and Pooja is quiet and sweet Rani Mukherjee. She’s supposed to be the plain one, but you can stuff her in all the dowdy turtlenecks you want, she’s still Rani. Also her outfits have aged a little better than Kareena’s.

Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000)

Such Bollywood. Very Hrithik. So melodrama. Wow.

(“Say you love me”) So this is the movie that Rakesh Roshan made to launch his son’s career. This is the superhit that launched Hrithik to stardom. It’s not bad, actually. I mean, the plot makes it the sort of movie you’d show people if you wanted to confirm all their stereotypes of Bollywood, but the ridiculous situations, people falling in love for no discernable reason, criminals with the collective intelligence of boiled cabbage and Hrithik’s flashy dance moves are just what I like. I enjoyed it far more than I was planning to. There’s silliness and warm fuzzies, the songs are catchy, and the commitment to emotional drama, regardless of logic, is impressive.

Our fresh-faced young hero

The soft-focus heroine

Rohit (Hrithik Roshan) is an honest, cheerful fellow who supports himself and his orphaned brother. He meets Sonia (Ameesha Patel) and lectures her into a dupatta within the first 15 minutes of the movie, which has to be some kind of record. They fall in love when Rohit is hired as a musician on a cruise to Singapore.Through a series of drunk coincidences, they’re stranded on an idyllic deserted island together for some first-class frolicking.