I’m going back a couple decades for this one. Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage is a 2002 Hindi romantic drama, and if the names Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel ring a bell, that’s exactly the pull here, this was the second and last time these two shared the screen together as a pair, after their breakout debut in Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai two years earlier.
Sapna Dholakia wants exactly one thing: to marry Rohit, the man she’s in love with. Her family has other plans. Her father is stubborn, her household is conservative to the point of suffocating, and none of that leaves much room for what Sapna actually wants, which, of course, is where the whole story kicks off.
Film Details
- Title: Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage (2002)
- Release Date: April 19, 2002
- Country: India
- Language: Hindi
- Director: Vikram Bhatt
- Producer: Gautam Kumar
- Genre: Action, Romance, Drama
- Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Ameesha Patel, Kiran Kumar, Mukesh Tiwari, Nishigandha Wad, Madhuri Sanjeev, Alok Nath, Shahbaaz Khan, Shaikh Sami, Jasbir Thandi, Jimmy Moses
- Cinematography: Pravin Bhatt
- Music: Rajesh Roshan
The Story
Rohit (Hrithik Roshan) and Sapna (Ameesha Patel) meet under about the worst possible circumstances for a meet-cute, Rohit ends up saving Sapna’s life when she’s attacked by enemies of her father. That father happens to be Pratap Dholakia, one of the most feared underworld figures in India. Sapna lives under constant watch, which means Rohit has to get creative just to see her again.
His chance comes when a college friend is booked to perform at a festival at the Dholakia residence. Rohit tags along, uses the opportunity to reconnect with Sapna, and from there, the two start sneaking around together whenever they can. It doesn’t last. Pratap Dholakia has already arranged Sapna’s marriage to the son of his old friend Hasmukh Patel, and he announces the engagement publicly, with Rohit standing right there in the crowd.
At the engagement event, Rohit performs to entertain the guests. Sapna can’t bring herself to watch him and runs off to her room instead. What she doesn’t expect is Rohit showing up there too.
Meanwhile, during a family photo, Sapna’s absence gets noticed. Her brother Raman, who doesn’t exactly have a gentle reputation, goes looking for her and finds her room empty, with a broken mirror as the only clue. He immediately assumes she’s been kidnapped by his rival, a man named Pathan. In reality, Sapna has run off with Rohit.
With help from his friends, Rohit brings Sapna to his all-male college dorm to hide her there. That doesn’t stay a secret for long, his roommate Nayansukh figures out that the daughter of one of the most feared men in the country is hiding in their dorm, and understandably, everyone else living there panics. Having Sapna around puts all of their lives at risk. But once Sapna opens up to them about her situation, they come around and agree to protect her instead.
The Dholakia family eventually traces her location through phone records that lead back to the dorm. Raman shows up ready to kill Rohit, but he’s outnumbered by Rohit’s friends and the plan falls apart. Not long after, Dholakia himself arrives, and promises to let Rohit marry his daughter.
That promise turns out to be empty. When Rohit meets with Dholakia again, he’s beaten badly. Hearing what happened, Sapna attempts suicide by swallowing pills. Later, while being escorted out of the country by her father’s men and Raman, she’s shocked to see Rohit alive and well. Rohit, driven by everything that’s happened, sets out for revenge and tries to get Sapna back.
But things take a turn when Rohit notices Sapna starting to bleed from the effects of the pills she took. He rushes her to the hospital. While he’s waiting outside her room, Dholakia approaches him, and this time, Rohit brings him inside to see Sapna. There, in that room, Dholakia finally apologizes and gives Rohit his blessing to marry his daughter.
A Few Things Worth Knowing
This film marked the only other on-screen pairing of Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel after their debut together in Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000), which is the main reason it still gets brought up by longtime Bollywood fans, even decades later. It’s worth setting expectations here, though: on release, the film was largely a critical and commercial failure, and it never came close to matching the success of their first film together.
The music was composed by Rajesh Roshan, with lyrics written by Dev Kohli and Ibrahim Ashq.
Sapna’s household in the film also includes her sister-in-law, Nisha Dholakia, played by Nishigandha Wad, she’s one of the few people Sapna can actually confide in throughout the story, given how isolated she’s kept by her father and brother.
Should You Watch It?
If you grew up on early-2000s Bollywood or you’re just curious about the Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel pairing beyond their first hit together, this one’s worth a watch purely for that curiosity factor. Just don’t go in expecting it to recapture the magic of Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, even at the time, most critics and audiences agreed it didn’t.
