Circa 1979. One of the most beautiful actresses of Hindi Cinema Parveen Babi is in dilemma. She is riding high on the success in her career. She has been giving hits after hits with none other than Amitabh Bachchan. And, on the shoot of one such film Namak Halal, she brakes down on the sets. She is working in some other films also and every producer wants her back on the sets as soon as possible else millions will go waste spend in making these films.
Doctors say that Parveen Babi can recover with the help of medicines but people around her want electric shocks to administer to her, so that she can report for the shooting. A struggling director Mahesh Bhatt is in love with this start and he opposes every move to give her electric shocks. He runs away with her from Bombay leaving his career in dark and hides in Banglore at the place of his Guru U G Krishnamurthy. And, one day this actress disappears leaving the director also alone. After years she returns, people are willing to know about her past, but no one succeeds.
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Cut to year 2005, the actress dies at her flat and world comes to know after only when her doors are broken open. No one comes to see her dead body and then again this director decides to pay respect to a star that was hearthrob of millions. Back at home of the filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, his wife finds a tape that was supposed to reach him year's back and she decides to hand this tape to her daughter Pooja Bhatt. The tape changes hands and Mahesh Bhatt after listening the content of the tape, decides to make a film on this, to cherish his moments with Parveen Babi. The film is aptly named Woh Lamhe.
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I am at Ketnav Studio in Mumbai to see a special show of Woh Lamhe. Director of Woh Lamhe Mohit Suri walks in with actress Udita Goswami. He has been living with her post Zeher. Moments of history are repeating itself. Mohit is no more in a mood to hide his relationship. He admits that while making Woh Lamhe, he has learned to take responsibilities, be it in professional life or personal. The film has made him matured in months. The film starts. After the opening sequence, where Kangna Raut purported to be playing Parveen cuts her wrist veins, every one settles down to see how this young director Mohit Suri captures the intimate moments of his uncle Mahesh Bhatt on celluloid.
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Shiney Ahuja plays the struggling director Aditya Agarwal. He encounters the beautiful actress Sana (Kangna) in a party where she has come with the superstar of the time (played by new comer Shaad Khan, nephew of actress Mumtaz). The star hates this director and the director wishes to insult the actress only to intimidate her. She readies to work in Aditya's film and it is from her that all hell looses. Producers are willing to bring Sana on sets anyhow and Aditya puts his life in danger to save Sana from the clutches of the industry Moghul. The clash continues and the pair runs away from the city. The director looses the actress only to find her years later on the bed of the hospital.
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Shagufta Rafique has written a screenplay of a story that carries a tag line the woman I love and lost. As they say, real love never ends in meeting of the lovers. It is the separation that brings in the pangs of love in one's life and it is this pain that makes a lover succeed in personal life at least professionally. Mohit Suri walks on a very thin line of real and reel life in the film. He never admits who this actor was that is played by Shaad Khan.
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But, the events taking place on the screen suggest that he an amalgam of two superstars of seventies. Mohit Suri was never taken as a serious filmmaker but in Woh Lamhe, he shows his caliber. He shows more maturity than of his age, may be because he too is in love with an actress. There is one scene where Shiney Ahuja gets up at 4 o'clock in the morning and decides to leave the place of the actress. The dialogues that are spoken in this scene are of classic value.
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Time changes, face changes but the scene has remained same for years. And only only those who have been in love can feel it. There are certain more moments in the film to cherish, like the scene where Kangna takes out her panty in the middle of the party and throw at the face of Shiney. The incident also happened in Parveen Babi's life but in a more subtle way. People who know Parveen tell that in a party Parveen just took out her bra as it was itching her. To understand Woh Lamhe one also has to understand the tragic love story of Parveen and Mahesh. More you know about it, more you enjoy it.
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Woh Lamhe also boats of some of the best songs of this year. The opening song 'Tu Jo Nahin Hai...' sung by Glenn John son of legendary S.P. John of Pakistan is the best song of the film. The song is in fact about 50 years old song and was a favorite song of Mahesh Bhatt's mother Shireen. Then there is one more song parallel to this sung by pop star of Pakistan Jawwad Khan, 'Bin Tere Kya Hai Jeena...' Music director Pritam has come up with beautiful compositions once again.
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The film also boasts of some very brilliant photography by Bobby Singh and Akshay Singh. Among actors Kangna and Shiney shine like anything in this film. Woh Lamhe seems to be succeeding in establishing these two new faces as the new star of Hindi Cinema. Shaad is a discovery. Watch out for more emotional films from Mohit Suri and Vishesh Films.