Plot
The film follows the journey of Suraj Dhanrajgir, a carefree and flirtatious young man who enjoys a life of luxury and casual relationships. His grandfather, Anand Dhanrajgir, disapproves of his grandson’s irresponsible behavior and hopes that he will one day reform his ways in life. In an apparent failed hope of this, Anand has employed Mahesh Pithani, Suraj’s wingman and close friend, to keep an eye on him. However, Suraj’s life takes a turn when he returns to the country upon his grandfather’s call and falls deeply in love with Komal, a principled and traditional woman. When Suraj finally gets her number, her aunt holds the line, and in an attempt to tell his name, the latter mistakes him for Suraj Dhanoa, a childhood friend of Komal. Although Komal gets to know Suraj well due to his vices. After Komal's terms and conditions to mend his ways, Suraj leaves his bad habits, becomes responsible, and quits smoking, drinking, flirting, etc., due to which he suffers a relapse and is rushed to the hospital. Komal misunderstands him initially, thinking that he broke her heart by not keeping her word, but learning that he kept her word and did everything for her, she accepts him later on. Just as Suraj begins to win Komal’s love and earn her trust, his past catches up with him in the form of a young boy named Kabir, who arrives at his doorstep, claiming to be his son from a previous relationship. Suraj is shocked and refuses to believe it at first, but upon learning that Kabir’s mother, Pooja, has died, and that there is no one else to take care of him, he admits Kabir to an orphanage, but Kabir escapes. With much hesitation, he later accepts Kabir as his son, though he struggles with the responsibilities of fatherhood and keeps his parenthood of Kabir hidden from Komal through lies and falsity. Komal thinks that Kabir would ruin their relationship since meeting him for the first time, even though Suraj convinces her that he won't do that. On the day of their marriage, Suraj decides to confess this entire thing to Komal. When Komal and her family learn about the matter, they feel betrayed and heartbroken, assuming that Suraj has been dishonest about his past, and they stipulate that Suraj has to choose between Komal and Kabir. Suraj, deeply in love with Komal and now emotionally attached to Kabir, makes desperate efforts to convince her of his sincerity and responsibility. Through Suraj’s act of choosing Kabir with responsibility, Komal sees the genuine bond formed between father and son. She realizes that Suraj is no longer the careless playboy he once was, but has transformed into a responsible man willing to embrace his duties as a father. Moved by his love and dedication, Komal decides to forgive him and accept both Suraj and Kabir into her life. The film concludes on a heartwarming note, with Suraj, Komal, and Kabir coming together as a happy family, symbolizing love, acceptance, and the power it has to bring change in people. During their marriage, Mahesh plays a prank on Suraj by sending an imposter child as the latter's son from another of his previous relationships. == Cast ==
Reception
A review in
India Today noted that the story could potentially have been a "four-hankie tearjerker" but Sareen failed "to deliver". It opined that the "typically over-confident Bollywood brat" Aditya Narayan was the film's biggest problem and it was Khan who "[kept] the film going" quite opposite to Khanna's "awkward hysterics". Concluding the review, it called for her "to take both acting and grooming lessons from
mom". Writing for
Rediff.com, Dhara Kothari opined that the "storyline [had] been stretched a good deal more than it should have" been. He found the editing weak but noted that Narayan showed "promise". On Khanna's acting, he commented that she exhibited "her limitations" which possibly could be ascribed to her role. He concluded his review by saying that the film "is entertaining enough to draw audiences".
Screen magazine wrote it "tackles an unusual subject in an interesting and sensitive manner". Khanna told in an interview that scriptwise it was her best film. Aditya Narayan was nominated for the
Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male for his performance in the film. The film did quite well at the box office, the film grossed in India and overseas for a worldwide total of (), against a budget of . It was the eleventh
highest-grossing film of 1998. == References ==