Aa Ab Laut Chalen


Aa Ab Laut Chalen is a 1999 Indian Hindi romantic drama musical directed by Rishi Kapoor, making his directorial debut and also remains the only film he had directed in his career. The film's script was written by Sachin Bhowmick and Rumi Jaffery. The film premiered in India and the United States on 22 January 1999. It starred Rajesh Khanna, Akshaye Khanna, and Aishwarya Rai and was the last production of R. K. Films.

Plot

Rohan Khanna is a jobless graduate living in India with his mother. Ranjit, a former neighbour who now runs a motel in America with his American wife, suggests that Rohan should move to America and Rohan eagerly accepts. His mother disapproves because his father Balraj abandoned the family to move to America, where he died.
At the airport in New York, Rohan befriends Sardar Khan, a Pakistani taxi driver. Sardar drops Rohan at Ranjit's motel. Rohan discovers that Ranjit and his wife mistreat his parents and use the motel for prostitution. Rohan confronts Ranjit about this and is told to leave.
Sardar rooms with another cab driver, a Punjabi man from India, Iqbal Singh, and they offer Rohan a place to stay and a job. While working, Rohan meets a young Indian woman, Pooja. They become friends and eventually fall in love.
Rohan asks Pooja to move in with him. Sardar Khan helps the couple to find jobs, but they don't pay well. Despite his hard work, Rohan has earned little money and has only four months left on his visa. On the advice of friends, Rohan decides to obtain citizenship by engaging in a green card marriage. Rohan and Pooja meet the seductive and wealthy Loveleen, who agrees to the false marriage. After the marriage, Rohan becomes completely wrapped up in Loveleen, abandoning his friends and Pooja to move into Loveleen's mansion.
Pooja finds a job as a caretaker for a rich Indian man, Balraj, who is elderly and very ill. Unbeknownst to her, Balraj is Rohan's father and is not dead after all. Balraj has a son, Karan, who is spoiled and arrogant. Balraj starts to think of Pooja as a daughter and asks her to consider marrying Karan.
Rohan gets tired of Loveleen, realising he is in love with Pooja. He goes back to his friends, who tell him where to find her. He begs for her forgiveness and asks her to return to India to marry him. Pooja agrees, and Rohan gives her a locket with a picture of his mother. Pooja tells this to Balraj, who encourages her, without realizing that Rohan is his son.
Karan has become interested in Pooja and tries to intimidate her into marrying him. After a confrontation with him, her locket breaks. Balraj is surprised to find his wife's photo when he looks inside. When Pooja explains that Rohan gave it to her, Balraj realizes that Rohan must be his son. He fears that Rohan might hate him, so he does not tell Pooja.
After hearing from Pooja that Rohan is struggling to make ends meet, Balraj asks Pooja to call Rohan to interview at his company. A grateful Rohan is offered a well-paying career and cash bonuses from the generous Balraj. Rohan uses his newfound wealth to pay for the care of Ranjit's parents.
After some time, Pooja and Rohan decide to return to India. Before they leave, Balraj confesses to Rohan that he is his estranged father and explains why he never returned. Rohan is angry at first, but after his mother forgives Balraj over the phone, Rohan decides to as well, uniting the family at last.

Cast

The music of this movie was composed by Nadeem–Shravan and the lyrics were written by Sameer. The soundtrack was quite popular upon its release. All songs were popular among the masses.
TitleSinger
"Aa Ab Laut Chalen"Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik
"O Yaaro Maaf Karna"Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet, Shabbir Kumar, Alka Yagnik, Sonu Nigam, Saud Khan & Vijeta
"Yeh Kaisi Mulaqat Hai"Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik
"Mera Dil Tera Deewana"Alka Yagnik
"Yehi Hai Pyar"Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Jaspinder Narula
"Tere Bin Ek Pal"Udit Narayan, Jaspinder Narula
"Pyar Hua Pyar Hua'"Jaspinder Narula
"O Yaaro Maaf Karna "Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik

Reception

Mohammad Ali Ikram of PlanetBollywood gave the film 7.0/10 and wrote "Aa Ab Laut Chalen may be filmi in conveying the theme, but the point is presented with laudable conviction in the second half. Rediff noted "Maybe Rishi Kapoor was bowing to RK tradition, maybe he was trying to follow his heart, but he just has to get back to the drawing board and seriously plan that next venture".
The box office performance of the film was classified as a "Below Average" by Box Office India. It is R.K. Films' last movie to date.