Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (transl. "Keep the palanquin decorated and be ready") is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Priyadarshan, with Akshaye Khanna and Jyothika in lead roles. The plot of the movie is adapted from the Malayalam film Aniyathipraavu (1997). The music was composed by A. R. Rahman. This is Jyothika's career debut film.[3]
| Doli Saja Ke Rakhna | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Priyadarshan |
| Screenplay by | Neeraj Vora |
| Story by | Fazil |
| Based on | Aniyathipraavu by Fazil |
| Produced by | Xavier Marquis Raman Maroo Rajkumar Santoshi (presenter)[1] |
| Starring | Akshaye Khanna Jyothika |
| Cinematography | K. V. Anand Ravi K. Chandran |
| Edited by | N. Gopalakrishnan |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Shemaroo Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 168 minutes[2] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹4.25 crores |
Plot edit
Inder moves to a new town to pursue his higher studies, in spite of the pressure from his parents to marry and settle down. There, he meets a beautiful, yet shy girl Pallavi. He instantly falls in love with her, even when her identity remains unknown. When an opportunity presents itself, his friends convince him to talk to her, while she tries to avoid the conversation. This is seen by her brother, who mistakes him for a stalker and so do her two other brothers, who thrash and leave him with a warning. Pallavi is the apple of the eye of her family. She lives with her mother and three elder brothers. They are overprotective of her and she does not do anything against their wish. Inder's family is not that different, except him being the only son.
The thought of Pallavi now burdens Inder's mind, and he sets out to find out how she feels about him. He asks her to give him an answer, even if it is a no.
Pallavi on the other hand, is unable to make a decision — further aggravating the situation. When Pallavi's brother finds out that Inder is still after her, he turns furious and beats him up, warning him to back off . Pallavi, now realizing that she had always loved Inder, feels that her timidity worsened the situation. She confesses her feelings to Inder and they kindle their relationship. They believe that their families will agree to their relationship. Within days. Pallavi's brother sees them together, while Inder is chasing Pallavi playfully. He mistakes it to be an attempt to assault her and tries to brutally attack him. Pallavi with her newfound courage, openly declares her love for Inder. The news devastates her family, leading them to reject her as a part of their family.
They search for Inder, forcing the desolate couple to elope. Pallavi's brothers search for Inder in his family home, verbally abusing his parents. Inder's parents are convinced that the girl is no good for their son, considering the behavior of her brothers.
With their beliefs broken and without a place to go to, the couple go to one of their two close friends who takes them home to his small village. They are welcomed by his father who is the leader of the village and the villagers. Her brothers trace them to the village that evening and are met with resistance from the villagers. They go home, and the villagers plan to get the couple legally married the next morning.
Pallavi and Inder, now seeing the situation that they put their families in and the sorrow that they have brought upon themselves and their families, decide to back out from the relationship and return to their families. They realize that the best thing they can do to prove their love, is to go back to their families. Although initially insulted with their decision to separate, the village leader appreciates their choice once he understands their reason. Their families, on seeing them return, forgive them right away and accept them back.
Both the families now feel indebted to their children and recognize their pain they try so hard to hide. They search for better matches for them both - Pallavi's family arrange a marriage for her. Inder finds with him a necklace belonging to Pallavi. His parents decide to go along with him to return the necklace, partially due to Inder's mother's wish to meet Pallavi. Both the families apologize for the happenings earlier and Inder apologizes to Pallavi's mother. The situation being depressing, they decide to leave early, but Inder's mother breaks into tears and requests to get Pallavi married to her son. Everyone, having felt the same way, agree on their marriage and apologize to their children, for the pain that they put them through.
Cast edit
- Akshaye Khanna as Inderjit "Inder" Bansal
- Jyothika as Pallavi Sinha
- Anupam Kher as Mr. Bansal
- Amrish Puri as Baba
- Moushumi Chatterjee as Mrs. Chandrika Bansal
- Aruna Irani as Mrs. Sinha
- Paresh Rawal as Dr. Suraj Sinha
- Tej Sapru as Inspector Sinha
- Mohnish Behl as Vikram "Vicky" Sinha
- Innocent as Colonel Vincent
- Ninad Kamat as Peter[4]
- Nandhu as Fisherman
- Rathan Mouli as King (special appearance in the song "Bole Sajni Mori Sajni")
Soundtrack edit
| Doli Saja Ke Rakhna | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Recorded | Panchathan Record Inn | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Label | T-Series | |||
| Producer | A. R. Rahman | |||
| A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman. The lyrics were written by Mehboob. Rahman reused five of the songs in the 1999 Tamil film Jodi. The producers of Jodi's 2007 Kannada remake Sajni, bought the rights of the songs and used them in the film. The video clip of the song "Kissa Hum Likhenge" was made in the Greek islands Mykonos and Melos.
| No | Song | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Taram Pum" | Babul Supriyo & Srinivas | 04:30 |
| 2 | "Kissa Hum Likhenge" | Anuradha Paudwal & M. G. Sreekumar | 04:54 |
| 3 | "Chal Kehva Re Kheva" | Sukhwinder Singh & Ranu Mukherjee | 05:31 |
| 4 | "Jhula Bahon Ka" Part 1 | Sadhana Sargam & Srinivas | 05:58 |
| 5 | "Bol Sajni Mori Sajni" | Sonu Nigam & Kavita Krishnamurthy | 06:28 |
| 6 | "Jhula Bahon Ka" Part 2 | Sadhana Sargam | 05:57 |
| 7 | "Taram Pum Taram Pum (Instrumental)" | A.R. Rahman | 04:31 |
| 8 | "Bol Sajni Mori Sajni (Instrumental)" | A.R. Rahman | 06:22 |
Reception edit
Anish Khanna of Planet Bollywood gave the film 8.5 out of 10.[5] Faisal Shariff of Rediff wrote, "The film plays on traditional family values, and that isn't very convincing. And the way it was carried off could have been a trifle subtler, we thought".[4]
Awards and nominations edit
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients and Nominees | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Filmfare Awards | Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut | Jyothika | Nominated |
| 1999 | Zee Cine Awards | Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut | Jyothika | Nominated[8] |
References edit
- ^ "The star test". Rediff.com. 9 January 1999. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "DOLI SAJA KE RAKHNA". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ "Jyothika made her debut in Bollywood". The Times of India. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020.
- ^ a b Shariff, Faisal (27 November 1998). "It kind of grows on you". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2003.
- ^ Anish Khanna (27 November 2008). "Doli Saja Ke Rakhna". Archived from the original on 20 September 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
- ^ "The hits and misses of 1998". Rediff.com. 8 January 1999. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "Priyadarshan: "People expect a lot from a commercial director"". India Today. 13 November 2000. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
I was so sure Doli Saja Ke Rakhna would do well, but when it didn't I lapsed into depression.
- ^ Zee Cine Awards 1999 | Best Debut Female - Preity Zinta. Zee Cine Awards. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024 – via YouTube.
