Pyar Tune Kya Kiya (2001)
Starring: Fardeen Khan, Urmilla, Sonali Kulkarni, Suresh Oberoi
Director: Rajat Mukherjee
Music Director: Sandeep Chowta
Synopsis: twist on Fatal Attraction is some respite from the beaten track- if only just
Reviewed by: Faiz Khan

 

Jai (Fardeen Khan) is a wandering fashion photographer on assignment in Goa when he encounters Ria (Urmila Matondkar) exercising precariously on the edge of a cliff. It feels rather like another Rangeela introduction, except this time our heroine is considerably moodier and decidedly less approachable. She snaps at Jai for photographing her, which is perhaps understandable, although quite why anyone would perform aerobics in a leotard on a public roadside and expect not to attract attention remains something of a mystery.

Jai has already managed to photograph her, however, and proudly presents the pictures to his editor, Wispy (Ravi Baswani), who immediately decides they are perfect for the cover of his fashion magazine. Ria, it transpires, is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Furious at first to discover her face splashed across the cover, she gradually relents—helped considerably by the fact that her father is positively delighted.

She insists she has no intention of modelling again.

Naturally, Jai persuades her otherwise.

A friendship slowly develops. Ria, initially presented as an introverted, moody and somewhat spoiled young woman, blossoms into a carefree girl hopelessly in love. Jai, meanwhile, is exactly the sort of charming rogue who unintentionally leaves broken hearts in his wake—warm, flirtatious, considerate and completely oblivious to the signals he is sending.

The inevitable collision arrives when Ria excitedly decides it is time for Jai to meet her father. Instead, she pays an unexpected visit to his home and has the door opened by Geeta (Sonali Kulkarni).

His wife.

The world stops.

The following day, Ria quite reasonably demands to know why Jai never mentioned he was married. She confesses her love, only to discover that while Jai is genuinely fond of her, he has never viewed the relationship in remotely the same light. For Ria, it is emotional annihilation.

From this point onwards, the film charts her increasingly disturbing descent into obsession, instability and desperation.

Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya was frequently compared with Fatal Attraction, but that comparison is only partially justified. Adrian Lyne's film centred upon guilt and punishment. Michael Douglas's character commits adultery and the nightmare that follows is, in many respects, a consequence of his own moral failure.

Here the situation is rather different.

Jai has not betrayed his wife. His greatest offence is failing to mention that he is married while enjoying an innocent flirtation with a young woman who has mistaken kindness for love. It is certainly careless, perhaps even irresponsible, but hardly malicious. Nevertheless, one cannot deny that his behaviour contributes to Ria's emotional collapse.

The film is therefore less a thriller than a study of obsessive love.

Ria herself is already emotionally fragile. From the opening scenes there are hints of reckless behaviour and emotional instability. Jai simply becomes the focus for all the loneliness and emotional emptiness already simmering beneath the surface. He is not the cause of her problems, merely the catalyst that brings them violently into the open.

Director Rajat Mukherjee pieces together an engaging psychological drama that succeeds largely because he manages to generate sympathy for all three principal characters. Nobody is presented as wholly innocent or wholly guilty.

Where the film falls short is in its emotional development.

Events move at such a brisk pace that the characters are never allowed sufficient breathing room. One wishes for more insight into Ria's psychological deterioration, more exploration of Jai's guilt—if indeed he feels any—and more of Geeta's confusion as her marriage begins to unravel around her. The decision to avoid unnecessary subplots keeps the running time below two hours and the narrative admirably taut, but a little more emotional depth would have strengthened the film considerably.

Casting Urmila Matondkar presents something of a dilemma.

Having already terrified audiences in Kaun, she arrives with psychological baggage that inevitably colours the performance before she has uttered a word. It might have been fascinating to see another actress tackle the role without those expectations.

That said, Urmila delivers one of her better performances of recent years. Occasionally she pushes the hysteria a little too hard, but for the most part she captures Ria's emotional disintegration with conviction. My only complaint is that the camera seems almost obsessively fascinated with photographing every conceivable angle of her body. It feels unnecessarily voyeuristic and occasionally slips into cheap titillation.

Fardeen Khan, meanwhile, is a genuine surprise.

There is a refreshing lack of vanity about his performance. He ambles through the role with an easy naturalness, unaffected charm and complete lack of self-consciousness. Rather than trying to be a star, he simply plays the character, and the film benefits enormously from that restraint.

Sonali Kulkarni has comparatively little screen time but brings quiet dignity to the role of Geeta.

Technically the film is polished, well photographed and crisply edited, with an excellent background score. The soundtrack is one of its greatest strengths. Kambakht Ishq understandably became the standout hit, but Jaana, Ku Ku Ku and the title track are all memorable additions.

Overall, Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya is an engrossing and stylish psychological drama. It may lack the emotional depth to become a truly great film, but it remains an intelligent, tightly constructed and often compelling exploration of obsessive love.