Maine Pyar Kiya - Why I will always go back

There was never any hope.

When this comes up on screen, you capitulate.

 

 

Or this.

There was no hope. Really.

I was all of 7 years when Maine Pyar Kiya released. I did not watch it until a long long time after that but when I did, I buckled under a phenomenon that was Prem and Suman's world (more so because of Prem I confess).

Anyone who knows me knows that I moon over Salman Khan. This veneration was questioned in a recent conversation. "You say it was because of Maine Pyar Kiya. Will the movie leave you overawed in the same manner today?" I vehemently defended my adoration but it went unacknowledged. Not a lot of people out there like Salman Khan. To each his own.

Since multiple skeptical glances were thrown my way, the skirmish just handed me a reason to watch the movie again. Did I say again? Yes, again. I watch it every year. I have watched it so many times now that it does not matter that I do not keep count. I watch it but it is not a ritual. It is a new experience each time. This time was no different.

How could it be different? The movie enthralls me despite the warped fashion of the 80s.

 

It captivates me each time Prem says "Aur nahin toh kya. Aur iss baar mat poochna, kyun" in response to her "Tumhe bura laga".

 

It gave us the quintessential Mohnish Behl whose line "Ek ladka aur ladki kabhi dost nahin ho sakte" became epic without him having to smirk a la Ranjith (I like the man, no offense).

 

 

It gave us playfulness of young love that would be immortalized with "Abhi mood nahin hai"

 

 

It communicated Prem's respect for Suman with the slightest of nuances.

 

 

It symbolized what a man in love could do for his woman.

 

 

It was the genesis of "mooning over Salman Khan". There was (is) no hope. Really.