What happens when you remake an English movie and add Hindi cinema elements without anticipating the outcome? The result is a mess like this movie. Inspite of a good story, actors and music the result is a disappointment. Yaarana is inspired from Sleeping With The Enemy (1991) starring Julia Roberts. During the same time there were two more remakes of this movie – Daraar (1996) and Agni Sakshi (1996). Yaraana was directed by David Dhawan, better known for the comedy genre. Unfortunately, the movie falters to make an impression and is one his forgettable offerings. The movie is best remembered today for its iconic song Mera piya ghar aaya o Ramji.

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The Plot

The movie begins and we see Madhuri Dixit, dressed as a bride, running on the road in the night. Her character is called Lalita and she is being chased by her would be husband JB (Raj Babbar). Later, through a flashback we come to know Lalita is a talented dancer. JB had come to see her performance (Dil loye loye, aaja aaja mahi) and is mesmerized. Apparently, he is super obsessed with her. Lalita’s uncle Madanlal (Tez Sapru) works for JB. JB bribes Madanlal and proposes to get married to Lalita. Madanlal, being a shady character agrees willingly.

Madanlal hurries home to share the good news with Lalita and a neighbour “aunty” Mrs D’Souza (Sulbha Deshpande). Aunty is close to Lalita and a well wisher unlike Madanlal. Aunty and Lalita immediately smell a rat. Lalita accuses Madanlal of selling her off to JB and she will not agree to this marriage at any cost.

But JB is unrelenting. He forcefully brings Lalita to his house and treats her like a caged bird. While attending a party, he thrashes the photographer for taking photographs of Lalita. So extreme is his obsession. He warns Lalita that he “owns” her and there is no escape for her. Soon, the day of the wedding arrives. Lalita collapses in the mandap before the 7 pheras can be completed. JB sends for a doctor but Lalita manages to run away before she can be attended. Thus JB is chasing her, to take her back and marry her forcibly. The chase scene is impressively done.

Finally, he catches her but she slips away and enters a hotel. She sees some mannequins on display and gets an idea. She disguises as a foreign looking mannequin, with a wig and blue eyes (how she manages to replace the mannequin without attracting attention, how does she gets blue lens at short notice?.. is best answered by the director!).

We see a guest Raj (Rishi Kapoor) leaving the hotel in a drunken state. He looks at the mannequin, is impressed by her beauty and takes her with him, just like that. JB and the disguised Lalita cross paths but she is not recognized. The scene moves to Switzerland with an unwanted song Jaadu jaadu jaadu jaadu (there are many random and unwanted elements in this movie). Raj is too drunk to figure out whether he is dancing with a mannequin or a real girl. Lalita runs away as the song ends.

Now we are introduced to Raj’s family. This is a plot we have seen earlier. Raj’s grandfather dadaji Rai Saheb (Kader Khan) wants Raj to get married soon. He conspires with his friend and doctor Rashid (Anil Dhawan) and fakes a heart attack. Raj returns home and receives the sad news. Rashid tells Raj that he better get a “bahu” for dadaji, else he may not survive his heart condition. Raj doesn’t know what to do a decides to meet his friend Banke for advice.

The scene moves to a drama theatre. Banke (Shakti Kapoor) is the manager. Apparently his dancer has not arrived. The crowd is shouting Mohini Mohini (an obvious reference to Ek do teen from Tezaab). In steps Lalita and performs Mera piya ghar aaya, winning the crowd’s approval. After the performance, Banke thanks her for being a saviour. She calls him bhaiya and asks him to give her a job, which he does.

Raj enters suddenly. Lalita is scared he will recognize her as the mannequin cum foreign girl. But she is not wearing western clothes or the wig and Raj barely looks at her. Banke listens to Raj’s problem and understands they need to arrange a temporary wife for Raj. All this to pacify dadaji and make him feel better.

Next day, Lalita dresses up as the fake bahu and goes to Raj’s house. She is called Shikha. Dadaji is overjoyed to meet her. She takes his blessings and leaves. Raj hopes the matter will end here but dadaji has other ideas. He wants to meet Shikha again and make her stay with them. Raj is forced to go to Banke’s drama theatre and bring her back much against his wishes. Shikha shows reluctance but agrees to return. She settles down in her role and plays the perfect daughter in law, leaving everyone impressed. But for Raj, she is a nuisance.

There are other unwanted schemes in the pipeline. Banke makes Lalita meet Raj in the foreign girl’s disguise. She does so. This time she gives her name as Kavita Krishnamurthy. Raj falls in love with Kavita. He wants to marry her.

But dadaji wants to make Shikha his daughter in law as soon as possible. The track continues for some time. We also have Shikha’s fake parents (played by Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Himani Shivpuri) meeting dadaji and giving their consent for Shikha and Raj’s marriage. So Lalita acting as Shikha is troubling Raj all the time. On the other hand, she meets him as Kavita and romances with him.

Amidst all this, Raj is bound to find out that Shikha and Kavita are the same person, which he ultimately does! And Lalita has not told the truth about her past to Raj.

As things are getting sorted, it is time for JB to enter the scene again. He has been tracing Lalita. Will Lalita confess the truth to Raj and his family? What will be the consequence? Needless to say, the ending is predictable.

The Music

Anu Malik was heavily inspired when he composed the music and you can figure out the inspirations in most of the songs. There are many songs – Dil loye loye aaja aaja mahi, Jaadu jaadu jaadu jaadu, Rabbi re ralli, Noorani chehere wale, Mohabbat ki nazrein karam chahta hoon and Jaane woh kaisa chor tha, which were popular. But Mera piya ghar aaya remains timeless. Madhuri Dixit and Saroj Khan’s collaboration makes this one of their best remembered songs. Kavita Krishnamurthy won the Filmfare award for best playback singer.

My Thoughts

The title is not clear as Yaraana means friendship. Performance wise, all actors have done well. The problem lies in the mixing of 2 genres. It would have worked if it was a stand alone thriller or comedy movie. The comedy track involving fake heart attack, fake bahu, heroine in disguise have been seen earlier and seem stale. Not to forget the random songs which are a must in Hindi films. On the other hand, Raj Babbar’s obsession filled track is more impactful. This reminds us of other David Dhavan films like Aankhen, Shola Aur Shabnam which had well executed thriller/ drama filled scenes.

Rishi Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit make an odd pair. Raj Babbar is convincing as the villain. The supporting cast, most of them David Dhawan regulars, deliver as expected. This was a time when Switzerland had become the go to destination for Hindi producers. Most of the songs are shot in Switzerland and the locations would seem very familiar to the audience.