Synopsis
Dhanraj Singh (Dalip Tahil) kills Randhir
Singh (Goga Kapoor)'s brother when the latter
ditches his pregnant sister, who commits
suicide. Dhanraj goes to jail for the murder
and the two families become bitter enemies.
Years later Dhanraj's son, Raj (Aamir Khan),
and Randhir's daughter, Rashmi (Juhi Chawla)
meet at a holiday spot and fall in love.
Raj finds about about Rashmi's family but
is unable to tell her the truth. Dhanraj
out of prison tells Rashmi the truth about
Raj's background and that she must forget
about Raj. When Randhir Singh finds out
about this affair, he immediately arranges
Rashmi's wedding. The two lovers take on
their families and elope, dreaming of an
idyllic life together. Furious at the turn
of events, Randhir Singh hires a contract
killer to trace the couple and kill Raj...
The film
 Qayamat
se Qayamat Tak or QSQT as
it is known came as a breath of fresh air
when it was released in 1988. It was thought
producer Nasir
Hussain was committing hara-kiri releasing
a soft love story at a time when senseless
action films were ruling the day in Bollywood.
QSQT got off to a slow start but
picked up rapidly following extremely good
word-of-mouth publicity and not only did
the film go on to become the biggest grosser
of the year, but it also gave the Hindi
film industry two sensational stars in Aamir
Khan and Juhi Chawla besides being one
of the more memorable stories of young love
ever seen on the Indian screen.
QSQT is the perfect blend of the
oft repeated theme of Romeo and Juliet with
the standard 'items' of a Nasir Hussain
film. But what takes the film that one notch
above the commonplace is the treatment and
the sure-handed direction by Nasir Hussain's
son, Mansoor Khan making his directorial
debut. By then Nasir Hussain had stopped
directing as his formulaic approach to filmmaking
had caught up with him following the failure
of Manzil Manzil (1984) and Zabardast
(1985). Mansoor Khan takes much of
the very same elements but gives them his
own take and modern sensibility and comes
out with a glossy and technically slick
(for its times) yet extremely believable
young romance that caught the imagination
of youngsters across the country.
The storytelling has an innocence, cuteness,
freshness and simplicity that is the film's
biggest asset. The setting of the film amidst
two warring Rajput clans works well with
the tough Rajput ideals and principles of
family honour contrasting against the sweet
little love story of the young couple. The
scenes of Raj and Rashmi falling in love
are well-drawn out with some witty and well-written
dialogues but then that was always Nasir
Hussain's strength as he believed it was
far more exciting to show the process of
how the boy and girl fall in love rather
and their courtship rather than showing
the couple already being in love. Incidentally,
it is interesting to see that Rashmi's character
is unusually forward in taking the relationship
forward - for example she even leaves her
'assigned' place the other side of the campfire
to sleep next to Raj. She flirts with him
through the Gazab ka Hai Din song
and she is the first to tell him she likes
him. Even in a typical scene of the heroine
being harrassed by goons, Rashmi gives it
to the man hitting him 'right where it hurts.'
A big reason for the film's success has
to go to the film's young lead pair, Aamir
Khan and Juhi Chawla. Though both had acted
before - Aamir as a child in Yaadon
ki Baraat (1973) and Madhosh (1974)
besides Ketan Mehta's Holi (1983)
and Juhi in a supporting role in Mukul S
Anand's Sultanat (1986),
one could say that QSQT was really
their launching pad. Aamir and Juhi make
a fresh, extremely likeable young pair.
What's more they both respond with fine
performances and more than capably carry
the film on their young shoulders. Hence,
they make you feel for them thus giving
the tragic end of the film a solid emotional
wallop as you realize the futility of hatred.
Aamir captures the charm and yes, awkwardness
of Raj perfectly while Juhi as Rashmi is
simply enchanting and wins you over as easily
as she does Raj's parents till they find
out her true identity. The young couple
are extremely well supported by Raj Zutshi
as Aamir's cousin and Shehnaz as Juhi's
friend Kavita while the older brigade Alok
Nath, Dalip Tahil, Reema Lagoo, Beena, Asha
Sharma and in particular, Goga Kapoor too
give a good account of themselves.
The other huge factor contributing to the
success and perennial appeal of the film
is its youthful, evergreen music. The film
is the breakthrough film of Anand-Milind,
sons of veteran Hindi film composer Chitragupt.
Every song in the film was a raging hit
be it the teasing Gazab ka Hai Din
or the intensely romantic duets Ae Mere
Humsafar or Akele Hain to Kya Gham
Hain but still, if one had to pick
the biggest hit of the film, it is undoubtedly
Aamir's introductory song in the film, Papa
Kehte Hain, where he is introduced
at a college farewell party with guitar
and all, an amalgamation of Grease (1978)
and the typical Nasir Hussain hero! The
success of the film and the songs sung by
Udit Narayan made him almost exclusively
the voice of Aamir Khan for a long long
time to come.
On the technical side, special mention
must be made of Kiran Deohans' splendid
camerawork. A top shot advertising cinematographer,
he brings a certain neat and clean-cut rich
look and technical virtuosity to the film.
The film won for him, deservedly, the Filmfare
Award for Best Cinematography - the first
ever won by an FTII alumnus. Filmfare Awards
also went to QSQT for Best Film,
Mansoor Khan for Best Direction, Aamir for
Best Male Debut, Juhi Chawla for Best Female
Debut, Udit Nayaran for Best Male Playback
and Anand-Milind for Best Music. The film
also won the National Award for the Best
Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
As is the norm in the formula driven Hindi
film industry, Aamir and Juhi found themselves
subsequently paired in a series of films
like Love Love Love (1989), Tum
Mere Ho (1990), Daulat ki Jung
(1992), but none had the magic of QSQT
and the films were mostly dismal flops.
They did combine beautifully again in Hum
Hain Raahi Pyaar Ke (1993), a take
off from Houseboat (1958) and a
fine romantic comedy in itself and Ishq
(1997) though the pair completed Ishq
with some strain as due to some misunderstanding
they were not on talking terms when they
did the film!
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