The universe must just know about my no-subtitles resolution.
I chose to go without subtitles on Black, but my
resolve wavered when I took up HAHK (can you believe I hadn’t seen it yet?) on
YouTube late one night. Exhausted that day, I left the subtitles on. Somewhere
around 30 minutes in, I fell asleep sitting up, glasses still on my face.
The next day, I took up watching it again at a more
reasonable hour but left the subtitles on.
Lo and behold, the subtitles died less than halfway through.
Ah, universe, how you taunt me.
This was hardly a new experience. I had a similar problem
with watching Maine Pyaar Kiya on YouTube more than a year ago. But that
was way, way before my subtitless days, and I actually abandoned MPK after
intermission when the subtitles went.
With HAHK, I knew it was a test of myself.
In some ways, I failed the test. I lost complete track of
who everyone was (except of course Prem [Salman Khan], Nisha [Madhuri Dixit],
Bhabi/Didi Pooja [Renuka Shahane] and Rajesh [Mohnish Bahl]). In a movie that’s
basically about two families melding, that kind of understanding might have
been important. But family relationship words are one of the things I’ve always
struggled with in Hindi, and it’s probably for good reason (mama vs. chacha
vs. kaka vs. phupha vs. massad… I think that’s all the
words for an uncle? Lordy, it’s plenty). But it also happens to be very
inconvenient when there are no subtitles.
Another failure of mine is in my inability to understand
everything when folks start talking fast. Which they inevitably do.
But despite dialogues set to speed, the movie is so simple
and straightforward that it really didn’t matter.
A sweet tale of romances and marriages, HAHK just feels so
positive and upbeat for the most part — a general heartwarmer, so to speak —
that just makes you smile. The story features an arranged marriage and a love
marriage, both equally happy and so both capable of making you smile. There is
ample flirtation, lots of jokes — so much to just put a smile on your face. (Although
like any Hindi feel-good movie, it has to have its dose of sorrows too, namely
Pooja’s untimely and utterly ridiculous death and a mixup that sets her widower
up to marry her sister, who is in love with his brother. Okay, so maybe that
part isn’t exactly simple.)
Watching HAHK, I was reminded how gorgeous Madhuri Dixit is
and how I really miss her (her number in YJHD was much beloved!). I don’t think
there’s a bad thing to be said for Madhuri playing Nisha in this movie — she is
almost always dazzling with her smile and when she is not, she’s drawing you in
by being marvelously sassy and coy.
And then young Sallu, so adorably sweet as his ever-favorite
Prem archetype, is infinitely more endearing to me than Sallu in his current
form. Soft-spoken, smiling, teasing Salman — this is the Salman I prefer over
the badass one (although, yes, I have come to love that form of him as well).
Who cannot fall in love with Prem? Especially a Prem that is working on wooing
Nisha?
Young Sallu, you can bring me phool any time. |
Adding to that, as something of an aside, I feel Mohnish Bahl is always or at least
often to be seen in harsher roles. I really enjoyed seeing him as well as a
softer lover/older brother figure instead.
And then, of course, the songs, the songs, the songs. Even
before HAHK, I had heard (and watched) some of the songs. Didi Tera Devar
Deewana especially. Who can forget it? It sticks in your head and the
picturization cannot help but make you smile. (Also, alas, is that a
short-haired woman I see?! In Bollywood?! Shout-out to the fellow short-haired
lady! Even though she is impersonating a man.)
So, in sum total, even without understanding everything
(slow down when you talk, people), HAHK is one to save for rewatching on down
days.
Because it is, in a word, endearing.
I love Salman in this avatar as well compared to now, please tell me you've watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? Salman's flirtatiousness in that movie actually made me like him more than SRK (in that movie) and that's saying something!
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