Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak

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Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Movie poster
Directed byMansoor Khan
Written byNasir Hussain
Aamir Khan (assistant writer)
Produced byNasir Hussain
Starring
CinematographyKiran Deohans
Edited byZafar Sultan
Music byAnand–Milind
Production
company
Nasir Hussain Films
Release date
  • 29 April 1988 (1988-04-29)[1]
Running time
163 mins
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Box office₹50 million (net)[2]

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (transl. From apocalypse to apocalypse),[a] also known by the initialism QSQT, is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film, directed by Mansoor Khan in his directorial debut, and written and produced by Nasir Hussain. The film stars Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in lead roles, making their acting debut. The film features music by Anand–Milind, with lyrics written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak tells the story of two individuals and recounts their journey of falling in love, eloping, and the aftermath.

The film was released on 29 April 1988. Made on a budget of ₹25 million, the film emerged as a commercial success, with a worldwide gross of ₹50 million, became the third highest-grossing film of the year.[4] The film received positive remarks from critics. The soundtrack of the film was equally successful, becoming one of the best-selling Hindi soundtrack albums of the 1980s with more than 8 million soundtrack albums sold, thus being a breakthrough for the careers of Anand–Milind,[5] as well as T-Series, one of India's leading record labels.[6] The film's music also established the careers of the Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik.

At the 36th National Film Awards, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. At the 34th Filmfare Awards, the film received eleven nominations, and won a leading eight awards, including Best Film, Best Director. Khan and Chawla performance in the film earned them Best Male Debut and Best Female Debut respectively. The film is widely considered to be a milestone for its genre, earning praise from critics for its direction, the story and music. The plot of the film was a modern-day take on classic tragic romance which "reinvented the romantic musical genre", setting the template for Hindi musical romance films that defined Hindi cinema in the 1990s. Indiatimes Movies ranks the film amongst the "Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films".[7]

Plot[edit]

Dhanakpur village farmers Thakur Jaswant and Dhanraj Singh are brothers. Their younger sister Madhumati aka Madhu was dumped and impregnated by Ratan, the younger son of Thakur Raghuvir Singh (Arun Mathur) from a rich Rajput family. The family refuses Madhu's marriage to Ratan, who is engaged to another girl, after he denies the allegations made by Jaswant. But his mother later tells Raghuvir she secretly heard Madhu tell Ratan the allegations some time earlier outside their house and begs him to agree to their marriage. He immediately refuses, telling her an unmarried pregnant girl would ruin their family's reputation by becoming their daughter-in-law. Jaswant leaves the village to sell their farm and see if they can move to Delhi where their other sister Parvati lives with her husband Bhagwandas and son Shyam, when he realizes the huge humiliation and shame their family will get there because Madhu's lover will marry someone else especially after he impregnated her. Saddened by losing her lover and the dishonour he will cause her family, Madhu commits suicide. Frustrated, Dhanraj brings her body at Ratan's wedding and kills him. He is jailed. The two families are now enemies. Jaswant moves to Delhi with Dhanraj's wife Saroj and son, Raj at Parvati's house, runs a clothing business with Bhagwandas and reaches good; he also raises Raj.

14 years later[edit]

Bailed, Dhanraj receives a letter from his son Raj, an ardent music lover who completes his education in Rajput College. He sneaks into Raj's college farewell party and is glad to see him fulfill his dreams. After the party Raj and his cousin Shyam who also completed his education there, emotionally reunite with him and bring him home where he also emotionally reunites with the rest of the family. Raj, Shyam and Dhanraj now join Bhagwandas and Jaswant's business furthering their success. In a twist of fate, Raj goes to Dhanakpur with Shyam to file a business case against Raghuvir's elder son Thakur Randhir Singh. While returning home, he is attracted to Randhir's beautiful daughter Rashmi. He sneaks with a reluctant Shyam into her birthday party that night to see her. He poses as Roop Singh, Randhir's friend Thakur Pratap Singh's son whom he wants her to marry. Raj reluctantly meets with Randhir after he becomes happy to "see" him after long. When the real Roop Singh arrives, Randhir refuses to believe it and that's when Raj and Shyam flee much to Randhir's anger. He then finds out from his manager, he was Dhanraj's son who came to file a business case against him and tells his mother and Rashmi which shocks them. Raj and Rashmi meet again at a holiday spot and fall in love. Raj learns about her family but is unable to tell her the truth. But after she eats with him, Shyam, Dhanraj and Saroj, she tells Dhanraj she's Thakur Randhir's Singh's daughter and is from Dhanakpur. Frustrated, he tells her he is the one who killed her uncle Ratan. Saddened, she and Raj exchange an emotional goodbye after he also tells her he tried to forget her after learning her identity a long time ago but couldn't because he was madly in love with her which shocks her. Back in Delhi, they still secretly meet even after he reluctantly promises his family he'll forget her when they confront him for loving an enemy. Randhir finds out about them after seeing them together at her college after he overhears their phone call at their house one day, and fixes her wedding to Roop Singh. He warns Jaswant, Saroj and Parvati at their house that he'll kill Raj if he tries to meet her again. Jaswant then confronts Raj about it and agrees to not tell Dhanraj anything after Raj lies he met her only to end their love. After Randhir beats him up and throws him out of their house when he warns him, he and his father can't separate them no matter what, at her engagement, she gets engaged to Roop Singh. Raj becomes very heartbroken about her engagement and cries in his father's arms out of shame for loving their enemy. However, later on with the help of her friend Kavita, she elopes from home and with Shyam's help Raj gets ready to elope too.

Raj and Rashmi take on their families and elope, dreaming of an idyllic life together. They stay in a deserted fort, happy in their own paradise. Furious, Randhir posts Raj's picture in the newspapers offering a huge reward if he is found but doesn't share Rashmi's name thinking of the bad name their family will get. Dhanraj warns him that he'll reluctantly be the killer he was before if he harms Raj after seeing his picture. When Randhir learns their whereabouts, he, his brother-in-law and his nephew Balwant hire killers to kill Raj. Overhearing this, his mother then goes to Raj's house and begs his family to save them. Raj leaves to bring firewood for their house. Randhir arrives with his brother-in-law, Balwant and the killers. They send them to kill Raj. While Raj is away, Randhir meets Rashmi, assuring her he has "accepted their love" and came to take them home.

Rashmi is overjoyed at Randhir's words, unaware of the truth. Raj is chased by the henchmen. Dhanraj reaches the fort with Jaswant, Shyam and Randhir's mother and asks about Raj's whereabouts. Rashmi leaves to make sure Raj is okay. He is about to be shot but the henchman shoots Rashmi twice instead. She dies in Raj's arms, making him devastated and grief-stricken.

Raj commits suicide by stabbing himself, and dies beside Rashmi. The final scene is both families running toward them; the lovers are together, never to be separated, as the sun sets behind them.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

The film marked the directorial debut of Mansoor Khan, son of Nasir Hussain as well as the acting debut of Mansoor's cousin Aamir Khan. The film was a tale of unrequited love and parental opposition, with Khan portraying Raj, a "clean-cut, wholesome boy-next-door".[8] The plot was a modern-day take on classic tragic romance stories such as Layla-Majnun, Heer-Ranjha,[9] and Romeo-Juliet.[8]

Mansoor recalled that his father Nasir wanted to launch Aamir as a leading actor and got convinced that Mansoor would direct the film after watching his telefilm.[10][11] The film was initially titled Nafrat Ke Waaris before returning to original title.[12]

Nasir initially wanted to cast Shammi Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar as the family patriarchs, but Mansoor refused to work with them as they were 'too senior.'[13]

For the film's marketing, Aamir was involved in promoting the film. He set up an outdoor ad campaign, which was a faceless poster that said, "Who is Aamir Khan? Ask the girl next door!" With the help of his brother-in-law Raj Zutshi, Khan also went around putting up posters on auto-rickshaws across Mumbai.[14]

Music[edit]

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Studio album by
Released1988
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageHindi
LabelT-Series
ProducerAnand–Milind
Anand–Milind chronology
Shiv Shakti
(1988)
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
(1988)
Woh Phir Aayegi
(1988)
Majrooh Sultanpuri chronology
Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai
(1981)
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
(1988)
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Planet Bollywood[15]

The soundtrack contains five songs composed by duo Anand–Milind, and songs written by veteran Majrooh Sultanpuri. All the tracks were sung by Udit Narayan, who sang for Aamir Khan and Alka Yagnik, who sang for Juhi Chawla.

Pancham (R. D. Burman) was to compose the soundtrack, but director Mansoor Khan wanted a young music director. That's how Anand–Milind, who had worked with him earlier on this tele-film, secured this project.[10] Mansoor selected Narayan to sing all songs because he felt that his voice would suit Aamir.[10]

The biggest hit song from the album was "Papa Kehte Hain".[16] Majroosh saab (as he is fondly known) wrote the song at the age of 70. Sung by Narayan and picturised on Aamir Khan, the full title of the song is "Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega",[17] which translates to "My dad says that I'll make him proud!".[18]

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was the best-selling Bollywood music soundtrack album of 1988, outselling Tezaab, the second best-seller,[19] which itself had sold over 8 million units.[20] Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak became one of the best-selling Indian soundtrack albums of the 1980s.[19] It was the first major hit album released by the record label T-Series.[6] Prior to release, Nasir Hussain reportedly sold the film's music rights to T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar for only ₹400,000[21] ($30,000).[22]

At the 34th Filmfare Awards, Anand–Milind won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, Majrooh Sultanpuri was nominated for Best Lyricist for "Papa Kehte Hain", and Udit Narayan won Best Male Playback Singer for "Papa Kehte Hain".

All lyrics are written by Majrooh Sultanpuri; all music is composed by Anand–Milind

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Papa Kehte Hain"Udit Narayan05:55
2."Ae Mere Humsafar"Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik05:53
3."Akele Hain To Kya Gum Hai"Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik05:59
4."Gazab Ka Hai Din"Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik04:26
5."Kahe Sataye"Alka Yagnik02:19
6."Papa Kehte Hain (Sad)"Udit Narayan04:01

Popular culture[edit]

The song "Papa Kehte Hain":

  • was used in Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999) in a parody. It was rendered by the original singer Udit Narayan and re-written by Ravinder Rawal.
  • was used in Dil (also starring Aamir Khan) (1990) during a college party scene.
  • was used in Andaz Apna Apna (also starring Aamir Khan) (1994) in a comedy sequence.
  • was recreated by Vishal–Shekhar as a short song for the 2012 film Student of the Year, which was Varun Dhawan's debut, in which he sings while performing at a concert.
  • was used in the Ajay Devgn-starrer, De De Pyaar De (2019) everytime Bhavin Bhanushali's character, Ishaan talks lovingly about Ayesha (played by Rakul Preet Singh), without knowing that she is his father's girlfriend (played by Devgn).

The song was also a success in the Binaca Geetmala.[23]

The song "Aye Mere Humsafar":

The song "Gazab Ka Hai Din":

Box office[edit]

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak became a golden jubilee hit after running for 50 weeks.[25] It earned a domestic net collection of 50 million[2] ($4 million),[22] and was declared a blockbuster, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 1988, behind Tezaab and Shahenshah.[26] Adjusted for inflation, the domestic net collection of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak is equivalent to more than 1.4 billion (US$21.5 million) in 2017.[b]

The film was also released in China, in 1990.[28] It was Aamir Khan's first film released in China, two decades before he became a household name there in the 2010s after 3 Idiots (2009).[29]

Accolades[edit]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref(s)
Filmfare Awards 34th Filmfare Awards Best Film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak Won [30]
Best Director Mansoor Khan Won
Best Actor Aamir Khan Nominated
Best Male Debut Won
Best Actress Juhi Chawla Nominated
Best Female Debut Won
Best Music Director Anand–Milind Won
Best Lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri for "Papa Kehte Hain" Nominated
Best Male Playback Singer Udit Narayan for "Papa Kehte Hain" Won
Best Screenplay Nasir Hussain Won
Best Cinematography Kiran Deohans Won
National Film Awards 36th National Film Awards Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak Won [31]
Special Mention Aamir Khan (also for Raakh) Won

Remakes[edit]

The film was remade in Telugu as Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi, which marked the debut for Pawan Kalyan. It was also remade in Bangladesh as Keyamat Theke Keyamat in 1993, marked as the debut of renowned Bangladeshi duo Salman Shah and Moushumi. It was also remade in Sinhala as Dalu lana gini starring Damith Fonseka and Dilhani Ekanayake. It was also remade in Nepali as Yug dekhi yug samma, which marked the debut of Nepalese actor Rajesh Hamal.

Legacy[edit]

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak proved to be a major commercial success, catapulting both Khan and Chawla to superstardom.[32] It received 8 Filmfare Awards including a Best Male Debut for Khan and Best Female Debut award for Chawla. [33] The film has since attained cult status.[34] Bollywood Hungama credits it as a "path-breaking and trend-setting film" for Indian cinema.[35]

Gautam Chintamani's book Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak: The Film That Revived Hindi Cinema (2016) credits the film with revitalizing Hindi cinema.[36] In the late 1980s, Hindi cinema was experiencing a decline in box office turnout, due to increasing violence, decline in musical melodic quality, and rise in video piracy, leading to middle-class family audiences abandoning theaters. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak's blend of youthfulness, wholesome entertainment, emotional quotients and strong melodies is credited with luring family audiences back to the big screen.[35][36] The film is credited with having "reinvented the romantic musical genre" in Bollywood.[37] Chintamani credits it as one of the most important films of the last three decades. It was a milestone in the history of Hindi cinema, setting the template for Bollywood musical romance films that defined Hindi cinema in the 1990s.[38] In a 2000 survey by Indolink.com, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was ranked the best film of the 80's.[39]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Qayamat is the term for the Islamic concept of Day of Resurrection[3]
  2. ^ 1993 inflation rate was 18 times: Darr's domestic nett of ₹107.3 million in 1993 is equivalent to ₹1,914.4 million in 2017.[27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak release date". NDTV. 28 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b Chopra, Anupama (22 February 2015). "Fifty shades of K". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  3. ^ "QAYAMAT SE QAYAMAT TAK". Indian Cinema. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Domestic Box Office". 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  5. ^ "India Today". India Today. 18. Living Media: 52. 1993. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2018. Anand–Milind did six films before hitting the jackpot with Qayamat se Qayamat Tak in 1988.
  6. ^ a b Booth, Gregory D. (2008). Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai's Film Studios. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-971665-4.
  7. ^ Kanwar, Rachna (3 October 2005). "25 Must See Bollywood Movies". Indiatimes movies. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  8. ^ a b Tejaswini Ganti (2004). Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema. Psychology Press. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-0-415-28854-5.
  9. ^ Panjwani, Narendra (2006). Emotion pictures: cinematic journeys into the Indian self. Rainbow Publishers. p. 112. ISBN 9788186962725.
  10. ^ a b c "The man who made Aamir Khan a star". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  11. ^ Srinivasan, Pankaja (5 May 2013). "Silver lining..." The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
  12. ^ Manwani, Akshay (6 November 2016). "The Majrooh Sultanpuri of writers". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
  13. ^ "Dalip Tahil recalls playing Aamir Khan's father in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak when he wasn't even married: 'I was 31'". 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  14. ^ "The marketing genius – Aamir Khan". Filmfare. 14 March 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  15. ^ "QSQT Music Review". Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  16. ^ "Hindi films: There's now big bucks in audio rights". India Today. 31 December 1992. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  17. ^ "Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega [Full HD Song] | Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak | Aamir Khan". YouTube. T-Series. 26 May 2012. Archived from the original on 14 March 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Udit Narayan feat. Mahendra Kapoor – Papa Kehte Hain translation in English". musiXmatch. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Music Hits 1980–1989". Box Office India. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010.
  20. ^ "Top 25 films between the years 1985–1994". Filmfare. 18 February 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  21. ^ "India Today". India Today. 17. Thomson Living Media India Limited: 112. 1992. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2018. Husain's Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was a runaway success though he sold the film's music to Gulshan Kumar's Super Cassette Industries for a measly Rs 4 lakh.
  22. ^ a b "Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average)". World Bank. 1988. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  23. ^ Srinivasan, Pankaja (26 August 2016). "Thank you for the music". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
  24. ^ "Re-creating a cult number". The Hindu. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
  25. ^ Jain, Madhu (15 May 1990). "Hindi cinema makes an emphatic return to romance". India Today. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  26. ^ "Box Office 1988". Box Office India. 31 January 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009.
  27. ^ "Darr". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  28. ^ "Films popular in China". Data India. Press Institute of India. 1990. p. 111. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2022. A spokesman of China Film Export and Import Corporation said in Bombay that films such as Sholay, Bobby, Qayamat-se-Qayamai Tak, Hero Hiralal, Shahenshah, Jalwa, Nacha Mayuri, Naseeb, Dance Dance, Disco Dancer and Naam, are being exhibited all over China.
  29. ^ "印度片現在這麼火也不是沒有原因的". Xuehua. 7 April 2018. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  30. ^ "Filmfare Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Filmfare. pp. 91–93. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  31. ^ "36th National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  32. ^ Derek Bose (1 January 2006). Everybody Wants a Hit: 10 Mantras of Success in Bollywood Cinema. Jaico Publishing House. p. 29. ISBN 978-81-7992-558-4.
  33. ^ Verma, Sukanya (29 April 2013). "Celebrating 25 years of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  34. ^ Chatterjee, Rituparna (5 August 2011). "Holi to Munna Bhai: Aamir Khan, Bollywood's evolving genius". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  35. ^ a b Vijaykar, Rajeev (18 June 2012). "Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak: Turning-point". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  36. ^ a b Chintamani, Gautam (2016). Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak: The Film That Revived Hindi Cinema. HarperCollins. ISBN 9789352640980. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  37. ^ Viswamohan, Aysha Iqbal; John, Vimal Mohan (2017). Behind the Scenes: Contemporary Bollywood Directors and Their Cinema. Sage Publications. p. 30. ISBN 9789386062406. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  38. ^ Ray, Kunal (18 December 2016). "Romancing the 1980s". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  39. ^ "Planet Bollywood: A Walk Down Memory Lane: Favourite Movies of The Eighties". 17 November 2000. Archived from the original on 17 November 2000. Retrieved 24 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

External links[edit]