Flashback Friday: Revisiting Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak An Era-Defining Bollywood Romance

New Delhi: A movie’s makers must have done something right if it becomes a cult classic and manages to live on in viewers’ memories more than three decades after its premiere. Through the phenomenally popular song ‘Papa Kehte Hai Bada Naam Karega’, whose lyrics are still seared into our minds, I was first introduced to the era-defining romance drama ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’. Even before we saw the movie, the early ’90s kids were singing this song during Antakshari (a spoken parlor game) sessions. So, the Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla film was introduced to me much later after its 1988 release because back then we didn’t have the privilege of revisiting any movie on our handheld screen, as we do now.

Legendary filmmaker Nasir Hussain, who is known for works like ‘Yaadon Ki Baaraat’ and ‘Teesri Manzil’, was the brains behind the movie. This romance flick was supposed to be his triumph card to get back in the game after a string of box office duds. The movie, which had been titled ‘Nafrat Ke Waris’, was about many firsts. Hussain’s son, Mansoor Khan, took over as director as a first-timer after his father had to undergo surgery that stopped him from bearing the demands of a full-length film. With the movie, Aamir Khan made his debut as an adult actor, leveraging his boy-next-door appeal to start an unparalleled craze. On the other hand, Juhi Chawla made her entry into Bollywood after making her South Indian film debut. In fact, although we aren’t sure of it, the Mansoor Khan directorial is likely where abbreviations like DDLJ, K3G, and SOTY that we resort to for movies got the ball rolling. What is certain, though, is that Bollywood’s era of ‘angry young men’ and vigilante heroes came to an end with the release of ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ at the tail end of the ’80s.

The movie wasn’t a brand-new love story; it was roughly a Romeo and Juliet retelling. The story of two young people from opposing families falling in love has been depicted in movies numerous times. What this movie did differently was introduce two star-crossed lovers to the audience while we were all watching heroes battle antagonists and save the damsel in distress. Raj from QSQT doesn’t act like that; instead, it was only Aamir in his soft-boy phase charming Juhi on-screen while we swooned over him at the theatres. He manages to win over his love interest without adopting any creepy tactics—a trait that is sadly rare among romantic movie leads even today.

Raj and Rashmi’s young love is depicted against the backdrop of two generations of Thakurs and their respective families. A realism never before seen in mainstream Hindi filmmaking was portrayed in the poignant film. It spoke of a fresh form of romance in Bollywood and undoubtedly offered us a female lead who makes the first move. Besides depicting the horrors of honor killing, ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ posed Rashmi (Juhi Chawla) as a modern, sophisticated woman who isn’t shy about expressing her genuine desires. She confesses to loving Raj, but she makes it clear that she doesn’t expect him to feel the same way about her. However, in one scene, Rashmi sleeps beside Raj even after the latter asks her not to while they are trapped in the middle of a jungle, raising questions on the fine line between romance and overstepping a boundary.

Even though it might not have the same impact on young people today as it did years ago, QSQT is still regarded as a milestone in Bollywood. Now, most of us would undoubtedly wonder how the protagonists, who come from a rather wealthy family, manage to survive in a thatched-roof house made of stones in the middle of nowhere. However, back then, films were make-believe that viewers were likely to see as an escape from reality. And if a movie offered love ballads like ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’ did, I bet I wouldn’t even question if the protagonists were dwelling beneath the sea to get away from their furious families.

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