Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (transl. From apocalypse to apocalypse; QSQT),[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 8million 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
Dhanakpur village farmers Thakur Jaswant and Dhanraj Singh are brothers. Their younger sister, Madhumati, also known as Madhu, was impregnated and then abandoned by Ratan, the younger son of Thakur Raghuvir Singh (Arun Mathur) from a wealthy Rajput family. The family refuses to allow Madhu to marry Ratan, who is engaged to another girl, after he denies the claims made by Jaswant. However, his mother later tells Raghuvir that she secretly heard Madhu tell Ratan about his paternity some time earlier outside their house and begs him to agree to their marriage. He immediately refuses, stating that 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. He realizes the humiliation and shame their family will face because Madhu's lover is marrying someone else, especially after he impregnated her. Saddened by the loss of her lover and the dishonor it will bring to her family, Madhu commits suicide. Frustrated, Dhanraj brings her body to Ratan's wedding and kills him. He is jailed, and the two families become enemies. Jaswant moves to Delhi with Dhanraj's wife, Saroj, and their son, Raj, staying at Parvati's house. He runs a clothing business with Bhagwandas and also helps raise Raj.
14 years later
After being released from prison, Dhanraj receives a letter from his son Raj, an ardent music lover who has completed his education at Rajput College. He sneaks into Raj's college farewell party and is glad to see him fulfilling his dreams. After the party, Raj and his cousin Shyam, who also graduated from there, emotionally reunite with him and bring him home, where he has an emotional reunion with the rest of the family. Raj, Shyam, and Dhanraj then join Bhagwandas and Jaswant in their business, furthering their success.
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. After they share a meal with Shyam, Dhanraj, and Saroj, Rashmi reveals to Dhanraj that she is the daughter of Thakur Randhir Singh and is from Dhanakpur. Frustrated, he confesses that he is the one who killed her uncle Ratan. Saddened, she and Raj exchange an emotional goodbye after he admits that he tried to forget her after learning her identity long ago but couldn't because he is madly in love with her, which shocks her. Back in Delhi, they continue to meet in secret, even after Raj reluctantly promises his family he will forget her when they confront him about loving an enemy. Randhir discovers their relationship after seeing them together at her college and overhearing a phone call at their house one day. He then arranges her wedding to Roop Singh and warns Jaswant, Saroj, and Parvati at their house that he will kill Raj if he tries to see her again. Jaswant confronts Raj about the situation and agrees not to tell Dhanraj anything after Raj lies, claiming he met Rashmi only to end their love. After Randhir beats him up and throws him out of their house when he warns him, Raj and his father realize they cannot separate the two lovers no matter what. At Rashmi's engagement to Roop Singh, Raj is heartbroken and cries in his father's arms out of shame for loving their enemy. However, with the help of her friend Kavita, Rashmi leaves home, and with Shyam's assistance, Raj prepares to elope with her.
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 the lovebirds. 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.
Reena Dutta in a special appearance in the song "Papa Kehte Hain"
Brij Gopal as Killer
Production
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 is a tale of unrequited love and familial opposition, with Khan portraying Raj, a "clean-cut, wholesome boy-next-door".[8] The plot is 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 (transl. Descendants of Hate), according to film expert Rajesh Subramanian.[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 his brother-in-law Raj Zutshi, Khan also went around putting up posters on auto-rickshaws across Mumbai.[14]
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 musicsoundtrack album of 1988, outselling Tezaab, the second best-seller,[19] which itself had sold over 8million 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]
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":
was recreated by Mithoon and sung by Mithoon and Tulsi Kumar for the 2015 film All Is Well. Amitabh Verma wrote additional lyrics for this version.[24]
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]
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]
^"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.
^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.
^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.
^"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.
^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.
^"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.
^"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.
^"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.
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