Kya Kehna

Kya Kehna
Directed by	Kundan Shah
Produced by	Kumar S Taurani Ramesh S Taurani
Written by	Honey Irani
Screenplay by	Honey Irani
Starring	Preity Zinta Saif Ali Khan Chandrachur Singh Anupam Kher Farida Jalal
Music by	Rajesh Roshan
Distributed by	Tips Music Films
Release dates	19 May 2000 (2000-05-19)
Running time	155 min
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Kya Kehna (Hindi: क्या कहना; English: What to Say) is a 2000 Bollywood film directed by Kundan Shah. The film stars Preity Zinta as a single teenage mother, with Chandrachur Singh, Anupam Kher, Farida Jalal and Saif Ali Khan playing supporting roles.

Kya Kehna dealt with the taboo issue of pre-marital pregnancy and the views of society. The film premiered on 19 May 2000, and was a box office success becoming one of the highest grossing Bollywood films of 2000, establishing Zinta's career in the Hindi film industry.

The film was moderately well received by film critics, with Zinta's performance being highlighted along with the treatment of issues that the story tackles. Kya Kehna won numerous accolades including the Best Story Award for Honey Irani and a nomination for Best Actress for Zinta at the 46th Filmfare Awards among others.

Plot

The story is about Priya Bakshi (Preity Zinta), the daughter of Gulshan (Anupam Kher) and Rohini Bakshi (Farida Jalal). Priya's parents, brothers and best friend, Ajay (Chandrachur Singh) love and support her. Ajay is secretly in love with her, and wishes to marry her in the future. But as she enters her first year in college, she catches the eye of Rahul (Saif Ali Khan) who quickly becomes attracted to her. She succumbs to his charm but her brothers and parents are unsure about Rahul. His womanizing worries them and they tell her to stay away from him. However, Priya is unable to leave Rahul. She convinces her parents to meet him but when they talk about marriage he backs off and he leaves Priya. Priya is devastated but moves on with her life. She later learns that she is pregnant with Rahul's child. Her parents go back to Rahul to talk about marriage but to their shock he refuses to marry her. Priya is faced with a decision, and she chooses to keep the child. Her decision prompts her father to chuck her out the house. Alone and neglected Priya is devastated. Later; however her parents and brothers find it hard to live without her and they bring her back. But now she has to face the society and overcome the disdain of her neighbors, among others. Society virtually ostracizes her and her family. Upon going back to college she finds out that all of her friends now mock her, and girls prefer to stay away from her due to her bleak character. During all this time Ajay sticks by her like a true savior, and Priya starts falling for him. With his support and with the courage she was nurturing in her womb, she makes people realize that she isn't a fornicator, but a girl who loved someone immensely. She could have gotten rid of the child she holds in her body, but she didn't because her child was a being and not a piece of trash. She says that if only she had gotten married, maybe the scenarios would have been different, maybe her child would have been loved and valued, rather than abused and insulted. With these words, she eventually gains the support of those who had earlier disrespected her. Her friends finally accepted her the way they did before and she was having a back to normal life. At the same time she manages to change Rahul's views as well and he decides to marry her. In a fit of a moment, Ajay and Rahul both propose to her. Priya, who had already started feeling for Ajay selects him over Rahul stating that a spineless guy like Rahul can never be a reliable husband.

Cast

• Preity Zinta as Priya Bakshi
• Saif Ali Khan as Rahul Modi
• Chandrachur Singh as Ajay
• Anupam Kher as Gulshan Bakshi
• Farida Jalal as Rohini Bakshi
• Puneet Vasishtha as Priya's brother
• Nivedita Bhattacharya as Priya's Sister-In-Law

Music

Kya Kehna
Soundtrack album by Rajesh Roshan
Released	2000 (2000)
Genre	Film soundtrack
Label	Tips Music Films
Producer	Rajesh Roshan

The soundtrack of the film contains 8 songs. The music is conducted by the award-winning composer Rajesh Roshan, with lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The title song is a copy of the 1960 song Oh! Carol by Neil Sedaka.

Reception

Box Office

The film was a box office success and emerged as one of the highest grossing Bollywood films of 2000, and was declared a "hit" in India.^[1]

Critical Reception

Vinayak Chakravorty of Hindustan Times gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing, "The basic premise of Kya Kehna!, then, definitely had the potential of being a gripping family entertainer. Unfortunately, somewhere down the line you feel as if most people associated with the film somehow lost interest." He noted, however, Preity Zinta as "the bright spot of the film".^[2] Aradhika Sekhon of The Tribune wrote, "The movie itself has several flaws but the issues that it tackles are real. The director takes a straight, hard look at the problems of today and holds them up for exhibition. The Indian tendency is to sweep uncomfortable issues under the carpet but if films like Kya Kehna continue to be made, at least, we'll be forced to confront them."^[3] Mimmy Jain of The Indian Express, in a positive review, commeded Shah for making "a sensitive film, on a sensitive subject", calling Kya Kehna "a film that should have been made years ago". She further noted Zinta as being "dazzlingly good" in her part.^[4]

Filmfare, in a three-star review, wrote that the film is "worth a watch" and attributed its success to Zinta's "very convincing performance".^[5] Sharmila Taliculam from Rediff.com was critical of the film, concluding, "Apart from the climax, the film is no big deal."^[6]

Awards

• Filmfare Best Story Award - Honey Irani
• IIFA Award for Technical Excellence - Best Screenplay - Honey Irani
• Sansui Best Actress Award - Preity Zinta

References

External links

• Kya Kehna at the Internet Movie Database