Mohabbatein (2000)
(Aditya Chopra, India 2000, 216 min., 35mm, Hindi w/English Subtitles)
Ahead of Holi, the Hindu festival of colors, which takes place the following week, come experience one of the most popular films in our South Asian Cinema collection. Featuring two legendary Indian actors, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, this epic musical romance follows multiple couples through a year at an exclusive boarding school. Headmaster Narayan Shankar (Bachchan) runs a tight ship at Gurukul, an all-boys school, emphasizing tradition and discipline, to the point of excluding romantic entanglements. When new music teacher Raj Aryan (Khan) is hired, he encourages three young men in their pursuit of love, putting his own job, and the three students enrollment, in jeopardy. What Raj doesn’t reveal is that this isn’t his first time at Gurukul. A key musical number that takes place during Holi centers this light but affecting film around the themes of love and family.