Woh Lamhe...

<p>The film begins with a woman in a hotel room. She goes to the bathroom and slits her wrists in an attempt to kill herself. That woman is later revealed to be Sana Azim ( ), a famous Bollywood actress. When this news reaches filmmaker Aditya Pankaj Garewal ( ), he is devastated. Aditya has been searching for Sana, who was intensely involved with him and who had mysteriously disappeared from his life without any explanation three years ago, only to surface now in what could be the last moments of her life. As Aditya waits outside the ICU alongside his friend Sam ( ), praying to be reunited with her, he has a flashback of moments spent with her three years ago. Sana had achieved stardom while Aditya was a struggling film director. He spots Sana at a fashion show, where he rebukes her for being ugly inside-out. He insults her to the point where she throws her underwear at him, thus garnering media attention. Nikhil ( ), her abusive boyfriend, scolds her and rapes her. Sana’s mother also scolds her for this act. Sana agrees at first to work with Aditya for his film, but later she declines as she is bound by a contract. However, she breaks free from Nikhil’s misery and agrees to work with Aditya. Aditya starts shooting his film. During the shoot, both become close to each other. During the last day of the shoot, Sana tearfully says that she will miss him and the memories spent during the shoot. Aditya compares those memories to the sand castles on the beach by saying that those sand castles remain in our memories forever even though they are knocked down by the waves. During the film premiere, both fall in love with each other. One day, Sana spots a girl forcefully entering her hotel room. She tells Aditya that a girl named Rani ( ) entered the room. However, through the CCTV footage, there was no girl who entered. It later revealed that Sana is a patient with who has excessive hallucinations of Rani, who doesn’t even exist, which gradually ruins both Sana’s life and career. When Aditya realizes that the only way he can save Sana from total devastation is to take her away from Bollywood and the vested interests that threaten to destroy her completely, he kidnaps her from the hospital, thus putting his career on the line. Aditya tries his best to bring Sana back on track, but in vain. She secretly stops taking her medication. During her birthday party, she faces her hallucinations once again and stabs Aditya. One day, suddenly, she disappears, leaving him with unanswered questions. Aditya is shocked. Meanwhile, Nikhil and the police reach the place and take Aditya. Nikhil asks him in anger about Sana’s whereabouts, to which Aditya repeatedly answers that he doesn’t know. Back in the present, Aditya is told that Sana has very little time and wants to meet him. They both profess their love for each other, and she breathes her last. Nikhil asks him what he will do next, to which Aditya replies that he doesn’t know. The film ends with Aditya reminiscing about her on a beach. He spots some children making sand castles and remembers his metaphor. He goes and makes castles with them. of stated, ‘‘ shows love at its painful best’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance he wrote, ‘‘Kangana makes the story of the tormented actress cross the borders of brilliancy; Ranaut keeps a tight control over overt articulations of expressions, so that when the outbursts happen they’ve a whiplash effect on the audience. She is a hugely expressive actress with a phemomenal ability to convey torment, hurt and incredulity through the eyes, Kangana is the first female performer of Bollywood since and who isn’t scared to strip her soul naked for the camera’’. of gave the film a rating of 3.5 (out of 5) and called it a ‘‘cinematic experience’’. He wrote, ‘‘ is a well-made emotional film that lingers in your memory even after it’s over’’. Praising Ranaut’s performance he further wrote, ‘‘Kangana gets the role of a lifetime in her second film itself and the actor sinks her teeth into it and delivers an astounding performance. If you’ve ever interacted with , even briefly, you’d see a replica of the glamorous star in Kangana’’. Gullu Singh of awarded the film 3.5 stars (out of 5) and wrote, ‘‘The film works because the protagonist, Sana (Kangana Ranaut) has acted so brilliantly that you feel the presence of from the 1970s. If there is one reason you need to watch , it is Kangana Ranaut. She is a brilliant, outstanding actress’’. in his review wrote, ‘‘ is impressive in the manner in which it straddles a mainstream sensibility with such rare understanding; Remember to carry a handkerchief, or you’ll embarrass yourself with your tears’’. Praising the performances of the lead actors he further wrote, ‘‘Ranaut is remarkable as she attacks a complex role with all the right moves and Ahuja makes his presence felt in every single scene that he’s in, his performance is delectable to say the least. These actors pump life into their roles and together with Pritam’s soothing score they make an experience that’s hard to forget’’. of wrote, ‘‘ holds interest because it has a taut script and fine performances’’. Praising the performances of Ahuja and Ranaut she further wrote, ‘‘Ahuja is superbly restrained, his eyes convey the doom built into this relationship and Ranaut’s performance has attitude; she is not afraid to be ugly or emotionally naked. Suri uses both ably to retell a familiar story persuasively’’. In a 2021 interview, film critic of called Ranaut’s performance in the film ‘‘excellent’’ and stated, ‘‘In , Ranaut takes a piece of her soul and gives it to the audience’’. listed as one of the ten movies of Ranaut that showcased her class as an actor. They wrote, ‘‘Playing a , Kangana accurately depicted the trauma of the actress as her personal life went down the dumps along with her career’’. listed the film as one of the ten must-watch films of Ranaut. Koimoi listed as one of the ten film which will lose their charm without Ranaut’s presence. listed Ranaut’s performance in as one of her seven best performances and a film which made her the star that she is today. The soundtrack was composed by while the score was composed by . The lyrics were written by . was accused of plagiarism by copying the tunes “Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai” which was allegedly lifted from ” ” by , and “Tu Jo Nahin” from a by Pakistani singer sung in 1959 Pakistani film – Savera; however, later the credits were given to the original artists and some of the tunes were recreated in musical arrangements. , , , , and Glenn John lent their voices for the album. gave a rating of 8/10 to the soundtrack.</p>