<p>Rohit, a struggling employed at a car , lives with his younger brother Amit as tenants to a childless elderly couple, Lily and Anthony who also consider the orphaned brothers as their own sons and vice-versa. He meets Sonia, the daughter of wealthy Mr. Saxena, and befriends her. During a cruise organized by Sonia’s best-friend Atul, who also happens to be Rohit’s boss Shakti Malik’s son, tensions arise when Sonia becomes jealous of the attention Rohit receives from other women. After a quarrel, Rohit and Sonia accidentally drift away in a lifeboat and become stranded on an isolated island. Their time in isolation reveals their clashing personalities and Rohit gets mad at Sonia for using the flag with her skirt as a fishing pole to catch fish since it was meant to signal the search party and they get into another argument and Sonia slips on a rock and falls into the ocean and yells at Rohit to save her since she can’t swim. Rohit, who himself actually can’t swim risks his life to save her and starts drowning. Sonia, realising this, saves him in time and this moment deepens their bond, and they realise their love for each other. A few days later, Saxena saves them from the island but he is not convinced with their relationship due to Rohit’s modest background and has him fired from his job by Malik. However, Rohit debunks Saxena’s claim of them eloping by saying that it would be against their love to for Rohit and Sonia to elope and get married immediately, since Rohit respects his love with Sonia and clarifies that he will only marry Sonia once he has proven himself to be independent, at which point Saxena slowly starts accepting Rohit. Determined to prove himself, Rohit records a song with help from Atul and other friends in an effort to launch his music career. Unbeknownst to everyone Shakti and Saxena run an illegal drug cartel with two corrupt police officers, Kadam and Shinde. On the night of his debut concert, Rohit witnesses the murder of the by Shakti, Kadam and Shinde. Horrified by the discovery, he gets brutally attacked but he manages to escape and Saxena orders to get him killed. While chasing, he is killed when his motorcycle is sabotaged, causing him to drown. His is never recovered. Devastated, Sonia is sent to to live with her uncle. There, she meets Raj Chopra, a cheerful young NRI who also happens to be her cousin Nita’s best-friend and bears an uncanny resemblance to Rohit. Although Sonia initially believes Raj could be Rohit, she learns he is a different person born and raised in New Zealand. While Raj falls in love with Sonia, she struggles to move on from her grief. Upon confrontation, she shows Rohit’s photographs to Raj shocking him to the core about the uncanny resemblance. When she eventually returns to India, Raj follows her and accepts the rejection. However he is mistakenly shot by Shinde, who believes him to be Rohit. Surviving the attack, Raj grows suspicious of Rohit’s death to be a murder as former had no prior connection to India. Together with Sonia and Rohit’s friend Tony, Raj begins investigating. Amit, traumatized into silence after witnessing the murder, eventually speaks and reveals that Malik ordered the killing under instructions from an unseen figure referred to as “Sirjee.” To expose the culprits, Raj impersonates Rohit during a staged concert, provoking panic among those involved. During the event, Sonia learns of her father’s complicity, while Raj is nearly shot again. After Sonia is kidnapped, Raj rescues her and confronts the killers. Malik admits to murdering Rohit but is killed by Saxena before he can reveal more. Evidence retrieved from Malik’s phone ultimately implicates Saxena as the mastermind behind the and the murders. He is arrested and confesses to his crimes. In the aftermath, Raj returns to New Zealand taking Amit with him. Sonia, having found closure and fallen in love with Raj, accepts his proposal, and their engagement is celebrated by their loved ones. When was initially conceptualized, director considered casting in the lead role. However, reportedly objected to his father’s repeated collaborations with established actors and encouraged him to cast a newcomer instead. Rakesh Roshan ultimately chose to cast Hrithik, marking his son’s acting debut. The film was officially launched in 1998 with Hrithik Roshan and as the leads. Kapoor withdrew from the project shortly after the launch, reportedly due to a misunderstanding between her mother, , and Rakesh Roshan. The role was subsequently offered to , who was cast within three days, owing in part to the Roshan family’s longstanding acquaintance with Patel’s family. The cruise scenes were filmed aboard the luxury vessel . The island sequences were shot in , , near the well-known (commonly referred to as James Bond Island). Portions of the song “Na Tum Jano Na Hum” and additional scenes were filmed across locations in , particularly and . Hrithik Roshan revealed in a 2001 interview that he nearly drowned while filming the sequence depicting Rohit’s death. The scene required him to remain submerged forty-five feet underwater for over three hours without breathing apparatus. In a 2025 interview marking the film’s 25th anniversary and its theatrical re-release, co-star Ameesha Patel echoed the incident, stating that Roshan risked his life during the shoot due to the extended time underwater without oxygen support. She further revealed that Roshan sustained a serious back injury while filming the climax sequence as Raj. During a stunt involving a leap, he fell and was hospitalized at around 3:00 a.m. The injury required complete bed rest and rehabilitation, resulting in a six-month delay in the film’s final schedule. emerged as a major commercial success and emerged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2000. It opened to packed theaters across India and quickly developed strong word-of-mouth, particularly due to ‘s rising popularity, dubbed “Hrithik Mania” in the media. The film completed over 100 days in multiple centers and was declared a “blockbuster” by . Domestically, the film grossed approximately ₹620 million (US$13.8 million in 2000), with an additional ₹180 million (US$4 million) from overseas markets, bringing its worldwide total to around ₹800 million (US$17.8 million).[7][8] At the time of its release, it ranked among the top ten highest-grossing Hindi films in Indian box office history. According to , when adjusted for inflation, the film remained one of the top performers of the decade. As of 2011, it ranked as the 11th highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time (adjusted for inflation), and the sixth highest-grossing film of the 2000s in India. received generally positive reviews from critics, with particular praise directed at ’s debut performance, the film’s music, and its production values. However, some reviewers noted that the storyline followed conventional tropes and lacked originality. rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and remarked, ” has come up with a winner. A racy script, excellent product values and taut editing result in a storyline that keeps the audience hooked throughout. The music is also good, especially the title song and numbers such as ‘Ek Pal Ka Jeena’ and ‘Chand Sitaare’. Hrithik is very good in the action and dance sequences, and proves his acting calibre in his very first film. too performs well.” Sabiha Kalolwala of praised the film’s broad entertainment appeal, writing, “Rakesh Roshan has been smart enough to make a film which encompasses all the facets of acting—drama, action, romance, thrill, comedy and tragedy, all of them enacted pretty well by Hrithik Roshan.” On the soundtrack, she noted, “There is not even one song which is not enjoyable.” of described the film as a high-gloss entertainer, stating, “Rakesh has taken the routine love-story, added a thriller twist and narrated it with style. isn’t about path-breaking craft, it’s about blockbuster presentation. Rakesh’s sweat and money are apparent in every frame.” However, she criticized the antagonist subplot, writing, “What doesn’t work is the tired villain track… The plot is as stale as the performances.” Kanchana Suggu of called the film a “great entertainer” and praised Hrithik Roshan’s performance in dual roles: “The ease and style with which he dances, emotes, fights, makes one forget this is his debut film. He’s had to essay two different characters, and he’s done justice to both.” She further complimented the cinematography, music, and direction. Several reviewers and media outlets noted that the plot twist—where the male lead dies midway through the film and the female lead later encounters a lookalike abroad—was inspired by the 1986 Kannada film . The film’s soundtrack was composed by , with lyrics written by , , and Vijay Akela. The album features playback vocals by , , , , , and . In the film, different singers were used to represent the two male characters: Narayan and Sanu primarily lent their voices to the character of Rohit in the first half, while Ali and Supriyo provided vocals for Raj in the second half. The dance sequences were choreographed by . Two of the songs from the film, “Chand Sitare” and “Dil Ne Dil Ko Pukara,” were noted for their musical similarities to the track “Voices” by Greek composer . The instrumental from “Voices” is particularly evident throughout “Dil Ne Dil Ko Pukara.” The soundtrack achieved massive commercial success, with estimates suggesting it sold between 8.5 and 10 million units. It was one of the best-selling Bollywood soundtracks of the 2000s and contributed significantly to the film’s popularity. The 2002 -language , starring , , and , derived its title from the song “Na Tum Jano Na Hum” featured in . The choreography of the song “Ek Pal Ka Jeena” became particularly notable for its signature hook-step, which went on to become closely associated with and is often cited as one of his defining dance moves. The hook-step from the film’s title track “Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai” also gained popularity and became a recognizable routine in dance culture. Additionally, Roshan’s performance in “Dil Ne Dil Ko Pukara” further cemented his reputation as one of the most accomplished dancers in the Hindi film industry. Over time, several songs from the film have attained cult status and continue to be remembered as iconic tracks in Hindi cinema.</p>