Was Hrithik-Kareena's Yaadein that bad?

The film was decent to me. Why did it bombed?

It certainly isn't a 'great' -- and probably not even a 'good' -- film. Nonetheless, I think people exaggerate how bad it was. It's no worse than your average 90s/early 2000s Bollywood flick, factoring in some real flaws.

Some may disagree, which is fine, but this movie had lots of potential. The soundtrack was pretty good. I also really liked Hrithik and Kareena's chemistry. Yes, it was still raw at times. She had not figured out how to cry on-screen yet, and he hammed whenever he faux-flirted with Monishka. Other than that, I was convinced of them as a young couple that really cared for one another.

The movie's glaring issue was its script. It doesn't know whether its main focus is the fatherly dynamic between Raj and his three daughters, or whether it's about Ronit and Isha. I assume this issue ties back to pressures Ghai felt to overhaul the script after Hrithik's debut and overnight superstardom. Like other directors, he was not prepared for this.

The crocodile thing, well, was kind of ridiculous. Further, there had to be a better way to handle the climax confrontation than the shareholder's meeting as is. The way to fix this is not complicated, but Ghai really dropped the ball here. That is what really hurt the movie from my POV.

Aside from that, the supporting cast was exceptionally weak. It's my least favorite performance from Supriya Karnik, who I otherwise adored in movies like "Welcome." They were all cardboard cutouts and cartoons.

So, to OP's point, I don't think it was that bad. Hrithik and Kareena's pairing still pops out to me, because, despite the glaring script issues and other problems this movie had, you could see why people liked them together--both in this movie and as a new young pairing overall. This movie had real potential, which is frustrating, but I don't think it's that much worse than the average film being made around this time.

EDIT: also, FWIW, this movie was fairly successful in overseas markets, breaking some previous overseas records for Indian films. Perhaps this goes back to the issue of films being over-targeted at NRI audiences during this time.

Originally posted by: filmfanatic45

It certainly isn't a 'great' -- and probably not even a 'good' -- film. Nonetheless, I think people exaggerate how bad it was. It's no worse than your average 90s/early 2000s Bollywood flick, factoring in some real flaws.

Some may disagree, which is fine, but this movie had lots of potential. The soundtrack was pretty good. I also really liked Hrithik and Kareena's chemistry. Yes, it was still raw at times. She had not figured out how to cry on-screen yet, and he hammed whenever he faux-flirted with Monishka. Other than that, I was convinced of them as a young couple that really cared for one another.

The movie's glaring issue was its script. It doesn't know whether its main focus is the fatherly dynamic between Raj and his three daughters, or whether it's about Ronit and Isha. I assume this issue ties back to pressures Ghai felt to overhaul the script after Hrithik's debut and overnight superstardom. Like other directors, he was not prepared for this.

The crocodile thing, well, was kind of ridiculous. Further, there had to be a better way to handle the climax confrontation than the shareholder's meeting as is. The way to fix this is not complicated, but Ghai really dropped the ball here. That is what really hurt the movie from my POV.

Aside from that, the supporting cast was exceptionally weak. It's my least favorite performance from Supriya Karnik, who I otherwise adored in movies like "Welcome." They were all cardboard cutouts and cartoons.

So, to OP's point, I don't think it was that bad. Hrithik and Kareena's pairing still pops out to me, because, despite the glaring script issues and other problems this movie had, you could see why people liked them together--both in this movie and as a new young pairing overall. This movie had real potential, which is frustrating, but I don't think it's that much worse than the average film being made around this time.

EDIT: also, FWIW, this movie was fairly successful in overseas markets, breaking some previous overseas records for Indian films. Perhaps this goes back to the issue of films being over-targeted at NRI audiences during this time.

Good assessment. I watched the movie for the first time a few years ago and my thoughts mirrored yours.

Of course there are some ridiculously stupid things like the crocodile thing, but the major issue with the movie I remember being was that it was all over the place. It seemed like Subhash Ghai didn't know what kind of movie to make and it was messy because of it. As you said, was it a family drama or a love story? It could be both but it felt like Ghai couldn't choose or didn't know how to blend it. I wondered if he changed things last minute to accommodate both Hrithik and Kareena's sudden popularity post their debuts since they'd signed onto the movie before... now that I think about it again, I think he did.

But the problem with the movie also was that it was filled with just really, really random things as if he suddenly had a random new idea on set and decided to implement it the same day without giving it a thought to how it would relate to the rest of movie, the overall tone, setting, etc etc. The song Jab Dil Miley is a prime example...wtf is the 'Hrithik multiplying into a million soldiers' visual got anything to do with anything??? It was things like that that filled the movie and in the end, everything is so incoherent and messy. I know that directors back then wrote the scripts while shooting and actors would rarely get fully completed scripts so everything was usually winged, but Yaadein just looks like Ghai was on some weird shit while making it.

It's not a fully terrible movie, watchable at best, but the only two things I even liked were the songs and Hrithik and Kareena's cute chemistry...I remember a few of their scenes being sweet and nothing OTT. Their appeal was always there.

Adding another point:

It bombed in particular because Subhash Ghai was a blockbuster filmmaker coming off of Taal, before that Pardes, before that Khalnayak, before that Saudager and Ram Lakhan. It was so completely jarring that he would go and make such a terrible movie by comparison to all of those. Of course it didn't work. He straight up lost his mojo and never recovered.

I wouldn’t know because the only thing I remember about it is dozing off at some point and waking up after the movie was over. But the title song is LOVE!

Originally posted by: cutejodikangal

I wouldn’t know because the only thing I remember about it is dozing off at some point and waking up after the movie was over. But the title song is LOVE!

😭😭😭😭 I see we meet again. This is also one of my my favorite movies. 🤣Only because I loved HR/Kareena and like the songs.

This might be the only movie my bf didn't finish in his whole movie watching history. He was so bored.

Originally posted by: JeanieBeanie

Good assessment. I watched the movie for the first time a few years ago and my thoughts mirrored yours.

Of course there are some ridiculously stupid things like the crocodile thing, but the major issue with the movie I remember being was that it was all over the place. It seemed like Subhash Ghai didn't know what kind of movie to make and it was messy because of it. As you said, was it a family drama or a love story? It could be both but it felt like Ghai couldn't choose or didn't know how to blend it. I wondered if he changed things last minute to accommodate both Hrithik and Kareena's sudden popularity post their debuts since they'd signed onto the movie before... now that I think about it again, I think he did.

But the problem with the movie also was that it was filled with just really, really random things as if he suddenly had a random new idea on set and decided to implement it the same day without giving it a thought to how it would relate to the rest of movie, the overall tone, setting, etc etc. The song Jab Dil Miley is a prime example...wtf is the 'Hrithik multiplying into a million soldiers' visual got anything to do with anything??? It was things like that that filled the movie and in the end, everything is so incoherent and messy. I know that directors back then wrote the scripts while shooting and actors would rarely get fully completed scripts so everything was usually winged, but Yaadein just looks like Ghai was on some weird shit while making it.

It's not a fully terrible movie, watchable at best, but the only two things I even liked were the songs and Hrithik and Kareena's cute chemistry...I remember a few of their scenes being sweet and nothing OTT. Their appeal was always there.

I appreciate your analysis, and I agree with everything you've said. You did a really great job of identifying and describing some of the issues with Ghai's development and production process.

I would add one last thing: the Coca-Cola and Pass Pass product placements got very obnoxious!

I agree with your description of Hrithik and Kareena's scenes together. You could definitely see the sparks, as well as why they still have a fanbase as a pairing today... despite doing some unsuccessful films. This was by no means their best acting performances. Like I said earlier, Hrithik's hamming when he was faux-flirting in English with Monishka was particularly noteworthy. But he also handled other scenes reasonably adeptly, so he was never too OTT (see: MPKDH) or unwatchable. Kareena's acting was quite raw at times, but again, never unwatchable or anything like that. Really wish we could've seen these two with a better script, but it seems like we'll never get that.

Originally posted by: filmfanatic45

It certainly isn't a 'great' -- and probably not even a 'good' -- film. Nonetheless, I think people exaggerate how bad it was. It's no worse than your average 90s/early 2000s Bollywood flick, factoring in some real flaws.

Some may disagree, which is fine, but this movie had lots of potential. The soundtrack was pretty good. I also really liked Hrithik and Kareena's chemistry. Yes, it was still raw at times. She had not figured out how to cry on-screen yet, and he hammed whenever he faux-flirted with Monishka. Other than that, I was convinced of them as a young couple that really cared for one another.

The movie's glaring issue was its script. It doesn't know whether its main focus is the fatherly dynamic between Raj and his three daughters, or whether it's about Ronit and Isha. I assume this issue ties back to pressures Ghai felt to overhaul the script after Hrithik's debut and overnight superstardom. Like other directors, he was not prepared for this.

The crocodile thing, well, was kind of ridiculous. Further, there had to be a better way to handle the climax confrontation than the shareholder's meeting as is. The way to fix this is not complicated, but Ghai really dropped the ball here. That is what really hurt the movie from my POV.

Aside from that, the supporting cast was exceptionally weak. It's my least favorite performance from Supriya Karnik, who I otherwise adored in movies like "Welcome." They were all cardboard cutouts and cartoons.

So, to OP's point, I don't think it was that bad. Hrithik and Kareena's pairing still pops out to me, because, despite the glaring script issues and other problems this movie had, you could see why people liked them together--both in this movie and as a new young pairing overall. This movie had real potential, which is frustrating, but I don't think it's that much worse than the average film being made around this time.

EDIT: also, FWIW, this movie was fairly successful in overseas markets, breaking some previous overseas records for Indian films. Perhaps this goes back to the issue of films being over-targeted at NRI audiences during this time.

I didn’t hate it, well okay parts of it I hated. Parts of it I really liked. Hrithik was SO gorgeous through much of this film. I wonder what a brave independent editor could have done with the raw footage. If the ridiculous bits were chopped and the overacting minimized, etc it would have been a much better film.

I do think that when Hrithik’s films don’t work the public and media are super harsh, much harsher than with some other actors - who shall remain nameless because I don’t want to ruin my weekend😆. In general, with the exception of a couple of other early films I don’t think any of his flops were as bad as they were made out to be.

Kareena Kapoor genuinely thought she was going to win Filmfare Best Actress award for this and it shows.

Subhash Ghai is an over-rated filmmaker anyway. Taal wasn't even all that. His style became stagnant and dated. Which was much more clear as he went on to do Kisna and Yuvvraaj.

Songs were great, but movie suffered from 'kahan shuru kahan khatam'.. storyline was all over the place