Mujhse Dosti Karoge!

''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' (transl. ''Will You Be My Friend!'') is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Kunal Kohli in his directorial debut, and produced by Yash Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukerji, and Kareena Kapoor, with a special appearance by Uday Chopra. Set across London and India, the narrative centers on a love triangle between three childhood friends—Raj, Tina, and Pooja—exploring themes of friendship, identity, and emotional miscommunication.

The film marked Kohli’s first collaboration with Yash Raj Films as a director. Principal photography took place in the United Kingdom and India. The music was composed by Rahul Sharma, with lyrics by Anand Bakshi. The soundtrack incorporated both original compositions and popular Bollywood classics from the 1970s and 1980s.

Released theatrically on 9 August 2002, ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its music and performances, but criticism for its narrative structure. The film was declared a commercial failure, though it ranked as the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, with a global gross of ₹336.1 million (US$4 million).

The film marked the only on-screen pairing of Roshan and Mukerji. Kapoor received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 4th IIFA Awards.

Plot

Raj Khanna, Tina Kapoor, and Pooja Sahani are childhood friends. Raj is drawn to Tina, unaware that Pooja harbors deep feelings for him. When Raj’s family relocates to London, he asks Tina to stay in touch through email. Tina, uninterested in the responsibility, passes the task to Pooja, who writes to Raj under Tina’s name. Over the years, Raj and “Tina” develop a strong emotional bond through this correspondence.

Fifteen years later, Raj returns to India, eager to meet the girl he fell in love with through their letters. Without exchanging photos, he assumes he’ll recognize her instantly. Upon arrival, he mistakenly identifies Tina as the girl from the emails and falls for her, not realizing it was Pooja who had written to him all along. Despite knowing the truth, Tina reciprocates Raj’s affections, and their families arrange their engagement. Heartbroken, Pooja hides her feelings.

Later in London, Raj takes Pooja to a church where she unknowingly hums a melody he had composed for his pen-pal. Realizing Pooja is the one he’s truly loved, Raj confesses his feelings. The two plan to marry, but upon learning that Tina's father has died, Pooja sacrifices her happiness to support her friend. She agrees to step aside and only agrees to let Raj marry Tina if she marries someone else on the same day.

During the wedding celebrations in London, Raj’s friend Rohan expresses interest in Pooja, and she agrees to marry him. On the wedding day, Tina observes Raj’s lingering affection for Pooja and realizes the depth of their bond. She calls off the wedding and urges Raj and Pooja to be together. The film ends with Raj and Pooja finally uniting.

Cast

The cast is as follows:

* Hrithik Roshan as Raj Khanna
** Athit Naik as Young Raj Khanna
* Rani Mukerji as Pooja Sahani
** Nandini Seth as Young Pooja Sahani
* Kareena Kapoor as Tina Kapoor
** Barkha Singh as young Tina Kapoor
* Uday Chopra as Rohan Verma
* Satish Shah as Mr. Sahani: Pooja's father
* Himani Shivpuri as Mrs. Sahani: Pooja's mother
* Kiran Kumar as Mr. Khanna: Raj's father
* Smita Jaykar as Mrs. Khanna: Raj's mother
* Sachin Khedekar as Mr. Kapoor: Tina's father
* Parikshat Sahni as Mr. Verma: Rohan's father
* Maya Alagh as Mrs. Verma: Rohan's mother
* Raja Vaid as Ronnie Mendonca: Raj's friend

Production

Development

''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' marked the directorial debut of Kunal Kohli, who previously worked in advertising and television. While the film drew media comparisons to the 1996 American romantic comedy ''The Truth About Cats & Dogs'', Kohli clarified that the inspiration was limited to the mistaken identity angle and that "not one scene from it is the same." Neil Nitin Mukesh, who would later debut as an actor, served as an assistant director on the film.

Casting

The film featured Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukerji, and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles. It marked Roshan and Kapoor’s third collaboration following '' Yaadein'' (2001) and '' Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001). Uday Chopra made a special appearance as Rohan Verma, while Barkha Singh portrayed the younger version of Tina Kapoor.

Rani Mukerji, who played Pooja Sahani, described the film as a “privilege” and recalled that working on it was an enjoyable experience, highlighting her strong on-set rapport with Roshan. Roshan, who portrayed Raj Khanna, noted the emotional depth of his character and likened the role to his earlier work in ''Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai'' (2000). He emphasized the second half of the film as particularly intense and praised Mukerji’s professionalism and positivity.

Kareena Kapoor took on the role of Tina Kapoor, a vibrant and glamorous character. Though initially hesitant to accept a secondary role, she was persuaded by Kohli and producer Aditya Chopra. Kapoor saw the role as unconventional, stating, “I play a loser, yet emerge the winner,” and considered it a performance her fans would enjoy. She emphasized the importance of aesthetics in preparing for the role, going on a short fast to achieve the desired look for her introductory scene.

Filming

Principal photography was conducted across several domestic and international locations, including Shimla, Manali, Mumbai, London, and Switzerland. Choreography for the film’s musical sequences was handled by Ahmed Khan, while costumes were designed by Manish Malhotra and Rocky Star. Sharmishta Roy served as the film’s production designer.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' was composed by Rahul Sharma, marking his debut as a film composer. Sharma accepted the offer in April 2001 while on a concert tour with his father, santoor maestro Shivkumar Sharma. He described the music as "young and fresh," tailored to reflect the urban and romantic themes of the film. The score incorporated traditional instruments such as the santoor and flute, along with an orchestral arrangement featuring sixty violinists for the background score.

The lyrics were written by veteran lyricist Anand Bakshi, with playback vocals provided by Alisha Chinai, Alka Yagnik, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, and Sonu Nigam. Reflecting on the project in later interviews, Sharma described it as both a "great" and "learning" experience. The soundtrack was released on 12 June 2002 under the Saregama label.

Critical reception

The soundtrack for ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. Narendra Kusnur of ''Mid-Day'' described the music as "hummable" and praised composer Rahul Sharma's youthful orchestration and innovative use of guitars. However, he also noted that some tracks followed a predictable pattern commonly associated with the Yash Raj Films banner.

Joginder Tuteja of ''Bollywood Hungama'' commended Sharma's debut effort, stating that he "does a superb job in churning out a number of melodies in one single package." ''The Hindu'' found the title track to be particularly hummable and highlighted the soundtrack’s fusion of Indian and Western musical elements. The review also noted the inclusion of a lengthy medley of classic and contemporary Hindi film songs.

Charts and sales

According to ''Box Office India'', the soundtrack sold approximately 1.2 million units and ranked as the eleventh highest-selling Hindi film album of 2002.

Release

''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' was released theatrically on 9 August 2002 across 290 screens in India. The film generated significant pre-release anticipation, marking the directorial debut of Kunal Kohli and featuring a lead cast of Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukerji, and Kareena Kapoor. Its world television premiere aired on 7 November 2002 on Zee Cinema. The DVD version was released on 11 November 2003 as a single-disc edition. The film later became available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 8 March 2017.

Reception

Box office

On its opening day in India, ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' earned ₹11.6 million (US$140,000). It went on to collect ₹211 million (US$2.5 million) domestically and an additional US$2.6 million from overseas markets. The film’s total worldwide gross was estimated at ₹336.1 million (US$4.0 million), with Box Office India classifying its commercial performance as a "flop". Despite this, it ranked as the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of the year, and remained among the top Indian earners of the decade in both domestic and international territories.

Critical response

''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' received mixed reviews from critics. While the performances of the lead actors were generally praised, the narrative was criticized for being predictable and the soundtrack was regarded as underwhelming.

Taran Adarsh of ''Bollywood Hungama'' gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, stating that it "clearly belongs to Rani Mukerji, who has the meatiest role comparatively", and described her performance as "superb." Subhash K. Jha, in a 2.5-star review, observed that Kunal Kohli made a visible effort to create his own take on the traditional Yash Chopra style. Derek Elley of ''Variety'' felt that Kapoor "largely reprises her pampered bimbo" role from '' Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (2001), but praised Hrithik Roshan's dancing abilities. Manish Gajjar of the ''BBC'' commented that Kareena Kapoor showed a strong sense for comedy and visually reminded audiences of her earlier character "Poo".

In ''Outlook'', Namrata Joshi rated the film 1 star, calling it "avoidable" and criticized Roshan's performance as "a poor parody of himself". Sukanya Verma of ''Rediff.com'' was more positive, describing Kohli as an "impressive" first-time director who maintained a tight grip on the screenplay and pacing. Madhureeta Mukherjee of ''The Times of India'' remarked that Mukerji "scores almost full marks for her heart-rending performance". Omar Ahmed of ''Empire'' credited Mukerji with "saving" the film. Khalid Mohammed noted that while Kapoor was "reliably spry and saucy", she risked typecasting by repeating similar roles. S. Ramachandran of ''Mid-Day'' wrote that the film's strength lay in its performances, particularly Roshan's and Mukerji’s, despite its flaws. '' Stardust'' acknowledged Kohli’s sensitive handling of certain scenes but felt the film overall lacked originality.

Accolades

Legacy

In 2023, ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' was featured in the Netflix docu-series ''The Romantics'', as part of the segment titled "The New Guard", which explored the evolution of Yash Raj Films and its newer generation of filmmakers. Earlier, the song "Andekhi Anjaani" from the film was reused in a sequence of Kohli’s 2004 romantic comedy ''Hum Tum'', which also starred Mukerji. The film was also included at the 93rd position in ''Time Out'''s list of "The 100 Best Bollywood Movies".

See also

* List of highest-grossing Bollywood films
* List of Hindi films of 2002

Notes

References

External links

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2002 films
2000s Hindi-language films
2002 romantic comedy-drama films
Films shot in London
Films shot in Switzerland
Yash Raj Films films
Films set in London
Indian remakes of American films
Films directed by Kunal Kohli
2002 directorial debut films
Indian romantic comedy-drama films
Indian coming-of-age comedy-drama films
Films shot in Mumbai