Review of Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!

Introduction

Just as the film Titanic (1997) is the largest grossing film in the world, Hum Aapke Hain Koun (aka HAHK) is presently one of the most successful Indian films in the world. The film opened in 1994 to full houses for months on end and many went on to see it two or three times on the big screen. This was further helped when the director, Sooraj B. Barjatya, insisted that the film would never be released for home viewing until he requested it. When it did finally come out (five years later) on VHS and VCD the sales were quite spectacular and since then many viewers who had only been renting Indian films, began to purchase original titles on VHS and now DVD for their own personal use.

The director`s last film, Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), gave Indian cinema a new lease of life after the introduction of cable and satellite television in India was hitting hard on box office sales. Many Indian films then began to copy Maine Pyar Kiya thinking that they could create the same success. This led to the growth of the romantic drama/comedy genre till audiences were tired and box-office sales plummeted downwards. When HAHK was released it re-introduced the forgotten family drama/comedy genre to audiences, which now inspire many films like Hero No.1 (1996), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and the UK Blockbuster Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham (2001).

It was a hard task for Sooraj R. Barjatya to meet up with audience expectations after his previous blockbuster, Maine Pyar Kiya. The love story was huge and its accompanied soundtrack is still hummed by Bollywood audiences. Still, the director managed to make a film that not only excels in technical values but also explores a genre that was forgotten during the 1980s and 90s which mostly consisted of action and romantic films. HAHK was actually inspired by a previous film called Nadiyaa Ke Pyar, which was produced by the same people behind this film.

HAHK is a film, which outlines Indian culture, values, tradition and customs and is uniquely told through songs and musical numbers. This elevates its storytelling technique as dialogue could have made the film quite tedious and not has as detailed as the lyrics. The films production design is also created in mind with the script; from the designs of the lavish sets, to the vibrant costumes, active choreography and shots, which would have no-more then five people performing on the screen. Editing is tight and the three and a half hour duration time is never tiresome as every moment is justified. Performance from the talented cast is notable, especially from Madhuri Dixit, Aloknath and Monish Behl.

The film makes for excellent family entertainment that will make you laugh, dance and cry. Wonderful stuff.

Video

Taken from a poor source the picture is quite horrendous and spoils the wonderful visuals of the film. The DVD is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, but it is not anamorphically enhanced.

Even if it were presented anamorphically, it wouldn`t have mattered, as the source print used is weak. The picture is too soft and the colours are washed out. Also quite a few compression artefacts can be seen in every shot, with a lack of picture detail due to motion artefacts. This made me too upset. The picture quality is so bad I actually switched off the disc after one hour, as I couldn`t put up with it any more. This is bloody awful treatment of a blockbuster film.

Audio

The quality of the soundtrack is just as bad, presenting the film with a mono track, which is diverted to all five channels. This results in a soundtrack that is full of echoes and distortion. The film was originally recorded in Ultra 4 track-Stereo, which is India`s weak equivalent to Dolby SR. It would have helped if the DVD were presented in Dolby Surround.

Features

The menus are dull in design, and while the film has English subtitles there is a major problem. None of the 14 songs are subtitled, so non-Hindi speaking audiences will miss out on important plot points that the song mentions. No other extras are available.

Conclusion

This is a poor DVD that must be avoided by everyone, even fans of the film.

Recently EROS has released this film (yet again!) as a collector`s two disc version which claims to be anamorphic and have a making of feature on disc two. But the quality is similar as the same source is used. Also the extras aren`t worth boasting about. Avoid both versions!!!