Romeo and Juliet....Indian style.

MartinHafer

Before you see this film, a bit of confusion might take place. The last name 'Singh' is a very, very common one in India and it is a name most Sikh families use. So, when you hear about a feud between Dhanraj Singh and Randhir Singh, it is NOT a family squabble but a feud between two Sikh families. However, unlike a typical group of Sikhs, both families lack the turbans extremely long hair and beards usually associated with male Sikhs. But, as I pointed out, they are not intended to be from the same family and the average Indian would know this. But, since I live in the USA and many readers are not Indians, I thought I'd include this in case there is any confusion.

"Qayamat se Qayamat Tak" is an Indian remake of Romeo and Juliet set in modern times. However, the film takes a few liberties here and there with the script. It begins with a man becoming engaged. On this day, his lover, Madhu, comes to him to tell him she'd pregnant. He is callous and offers to pay for an abortion and nothing more. She is so despondent that she killer herself. Her family has learned what happened and they are furious. Her brother is so angry, he shows up on the wedding day and murders the faithless jerk.

Time passes. Now, after many years, the killer is set free from prison. He is still naturally bitter about the incident--as is the other family. Clearly, they are feudin' families.

Unfortunately for the two angry and dogmatic patriarchs of the two families, two of their offspring soon meet and fall in love! Raj knows that Rashmi is from his family's enemies--but she is a lovely person. He resists her for some time, but after saving her from a gang of rapists, he gives up and allows himself to fall for her. Rashmi, at first, doesn't know who Raj is--but she, too, is in love.

As far as what happens next, that is rather interesting. Apparently the filmmakers made TWO endings and tried them out with test audiences. The younger people liked a sad ending similar to Shakespeare and the older folks wanted a happy ending. Which version won out? See the film for yourself.

I was surprised by this one. While it was generally a by-the-numbers remake, the film really held my attention and the ending practically made me scream out in surprise! It's an awfully enjoyable flick--one of the better older Indian films I have seen.

Finally, I'd like to say a bit about the DVD packaging for this and many other Indian films. While I love the films, many Indian DVD companies really screw their customers. They force the viewer to watch MANY previews--even AFTER you click to start the movie!! And, you cannot skip over these easily--or at all in some cases. You could end up sitting through a half an hour of previews and ads before the film actually begins! In the case of "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak", even after skipping through many commercials, when you click "Start Movie", it won't let you actually see the film! You must go to the chapters section and click on chapter one manually! Additionally, like some other Indian production companies, the songs are NOT captioned!!! It's enough to make me watch Japanese or French films instead!

score 9/10

MartinHafer 18 March 2014

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2982154/