Yaadein (transl. Memories) is a 2001 Indian Hindi musical drama film written, directed, edited and produced by Subhash Ghai. The ensemble cast cross over film starring Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, and Jackie Shroff in lead roles, was released worldwide on 27 July 2001 to negative reviews. It was inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Yaadein was a box office disappointment and the first flop for director Subhash Ghai.
Plot
Raj Singh Puri (Jackie Shroff) is best friends with Lalit Malhotra (Anang Desai), the younger brother of J.K. Malhotra (Amrish Puri). The Malhotras are wealthy business tycoons in London. Lalit and his wife Nalini’s (Supriya Karnik) business lifestyles have left little time for their son, Ronit (Hrithik Roshan), who opposes his family’s greed and as a child came to regard his “uncle” Raj and wife Shalini as his surrogate parents. Raj’s wife, Shalini (Rati Agnihotri), died in an accident some years prior, leaving Raj to raise their three daughters alone. Ronit has maintained close friendships with Raj and his daughters, having grown up with them.
Raj’s eldest daughter, Avantika, is happy in her arranged marriage to Ronit’s college friend, Pankaj; his second daughter, Saania, marries her boyfriend Sukant against Raj’s advice, and despite stark differences in family values and upbringing. Isha (Kareena Kapoor), the youngest and most strong-willed one, claims that she does not believe in love. After a few weeks of living with her in-laws and bearing their taunts and abuse, Saania returns home begging for a divorce but eventually reconciles with Sukant. Meanwhile, Isha and Ronit attend a sports event in Malaysia, where their friendship unexpectedly blossoms into love. Neither are aware that back in London, Ronit’s parents are secretly arranging for him to marry Monishka Rai (Kiran Rathod), the modern, spoiled daughter of another business tycoon, in order to create a business merger between the two wealthy families. With Raj being a longtime friend of the Rai family, the Malhotras recruit Raj to help them facilitate the marriage proposal. Raj agrees, the Malhotras having misled him to believe that Ronit would be happy with the marriage.
Raj is shocked when Isha asks for his blessing to marry Ronit, his loyalties to the Malhotra and Rai families making him feel guilty. Overcome with emotion, he ends up injuring himself in an accident, upsetting Isha. Though sympathetic to Isha’s feelings, Raj informs her of Ronit’s planned engagement and explains that she would never find acceptance as a daughter-in-law in the Malhotra family, due to their obsession with money. Isha then ends her relationship with Ronit and pretends that she loves Ronit only as a friend, although doing so deeply hurts her. Ronit, heartbroken and angry, is pressured by both Raj and his parents to marry Monishka. Bitterly agreeing to the engagement, Ronit soon discovers that Monishka and her parents’ lifestyles are totally opposite to the Malhotras’ own traditional Indian values; after proving this to Raj, Raj begs the Malhotras to reconsider the engagement. This culminates in J.K. Malhotra publicly insulting Raj, and accusing him of using Isha to worm his way into their wealthy family. Shattered, Raj ends his relationship with the Malhotras.
On the eve of the engagement party, during which the Malhotra and Rai families plan to announce their business merger, Ronit lashes out at his parents for their lifelong neglect of his feelings. He and Isha then reconcile and appear to elope, sending the Malhotras into a panic. Nalini is the first to understand Ronit’s plight and apologizes to Raj, who convinces Ronit and Isha to return home. With Nalini and Monishka’s support, at the engagement party Ronit gives a speech that exposes the families’ selfish sacrifice of their children’s happiness for money, which shocks the guests and prompts the Rai family to cancel the business merger. J.K. begs both Raj and Isha for forgiveness, and the Malhotras give their blessing to Ronit and Isha.
The film ends with a flashforward to several years later, showing an aged Raj with Avantika’s young daughter, and implying that Raj’s three daughters remain close and happily married.
Cast
Hrithik Roshan as Ronit Malhotra
Kareena Kapoor as Isha Puri
Jackie Shroff as Raj Singh Puri
Rati Agnihotri as Shalini Puri, Raj’s deceased wife
Supriya Karnik as Nalini Malhotra, Ronit’s mother
Amrish Puri as J.K. Malhotra, Ronit’s uncle
Anang Desai as Lalit “L.K.” Malhotra, Ronit’s father
Kiran Rathod as Monishka Rai
Avni Vasa as Avantika Puri
Himani Rawat as Saania Puri
Madan Joshi as Mr. Ranvir Rai, Monishka’s father
Dolly Bindra as Saania’s mother-in-law
Kamya Panjabi as Pinky, Isha’s friend
Subhash Ghai in a cameo (in the watch present scene)
Suhas Khandke
Rajan Kapoor as Sukant, Saania’s husband
Rahul Singh
Gargi Patel
Suman Dutta
Jennifer Kotwal as Preeti Sahai
Kamal Adip
Akhil Ghai
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