Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (lit. Who Am I To You?) is a 1994 Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya and produced by the Barjatyas' home production company Rajshri Productions. Based on the studio's 1982 film Nadiya Ke Paar, it was released on August 5, 1994.
Orphans Prem (Salman Khan) and Rajesh (Mohnish Behl) live with their uncle Kailashnath (Alok Nath), with the elder brother Rajesh managing the family business while the family looks for a suitable wife for him. This search ends when Kailashnath runs into his college friend Siddharth Chaudhary (Anupam Kher) and learns that he too is looking for a suitable match for his daughter Pooja (Renuka Shahane); overjoyed, the two families decide that Rajesh and Pooja are to be wed. During the wedding festivities, Prem strikes up a friendship with Pooja's sister Nisha (Madhuri Dixit), and the two fall in love. However, when tragedy strikes the family, the bond of their love is tested against their sense of duty.
Despite being derided in early reviews as a "three-hour wedding video", Hum Aapke Hain Koun..? (HAHK) ended up being among the greatest blockbusters in the history of Indian cinema, and undeniably the greatest of the modern era, being the first Indian film to gross over ₹1 billion; adjusted for inflation, it remains in the top ten highest-grossing Indian movies of all time. It is remembered for its editing, its performances, and most notably its iconic soundtrack: gargantuan even by Bollywood standards (14 full-length song sequences, most accompanied by lavishly choreographed dance) and remembered till date all over the country.
Decades on, HAHK's legacy in the Indian film industry and pop culture remains undeniable. Barjatya stated that he wanted to "re-expose the cinema-going public to the quintessential family life" with the film, and a large part of its success has been attributed to its Lighter and Softer tone compared to the grittier direction Hindi cinema had been taking at the time, starting a trend that wouldn't be reversed till years, if not decades, later. It inspired the career of Karan Johar, who would modernize the theme of family bonds in his own early successes. Finally, it led to an increase in the use of lavish sets housing large families adhering to traditional values, something seen in soap operas to this day.
Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! contains examples of the following tropes:
- Arranged Marriage: Rajesh and Pooja; indeed, their wedding frames nearly all of the first half of the film. After Pooja dies, their families decide that Rajesh must marry Nisha, which puts her in a tough spot due to her love for Prem. She agrees to it for the sake of their families and Rajesh's child, only for Rajesh to learn about Prem and Nisha's love and agree to let the two marry.
- Deus ex Machina: Moments before Nisha's wedding to Rajesh, she writes a letter to Prem giving Pooja's necklace to him and declaring that they must sacrifice their love for the sake of their families. She gives these to Tuffy and asks him to give it to Prem, who proceeds to give it to Rajesh instead, who lets everyone read it. Rajesh proceeds to confront Prem and Nisha, asking them why they didn't trust him, before asking Nisha whether she would like to be his son's aunt, proceeding to have Prem and Nisha marry each other instead. Notably, this is heavily implied to have involved literal divine intervention – after receiving the letter and necklace from Nisha, Tuffy sits before an idol of Lord Krishna and is implied to have received divine instruction before he gives the letter to Rajesh.
- The Dutiful Son: All of the younger generation, really, but emphasized most with Prem and Nisha, whose love for and devotion to their families has them agree to sacrifice their love so that Nisha can marry Rajesh and be a mother to his and Pooja's son before Rajesh finds out about their love.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Rajesh and Pooja straddle the line between this and Marriage Before Romance. While they certainly don't dislike each other when they meet, it is clear that they are marrying each other more because their families wish the match to be made and find the other a decent match. That said, they do get closer during the wedding festivities, and by the time their son is born it is clear that they love each other.
- Mood Whiplash: "Lo Chali Main" has Pooja enthusiastically prepare to talk to her parents about getting Prem and Nisha married. As she rushes to answer the phone, the music suddenly stops as she accidentally slips on the stairs and falls down them, leading to her death.
- No Antagonist: There is no villainous character throughout the movie. Indeed, the first half has little in terms of conflict, covering the wedding festivities with the families, along with both Rajesh and Pooja and Prem and Nisha getting to know each other and falling in love. The conflict in the second half primarily stems from a lack of communication bringing Prem and Nisha's love into conflict with their sense of duty; the moment everyone finds about the situation, they happily accept the couple with no opposition with Rajesh's only qualm being why they didn't trust him.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: After Pooja finds out about Prem and Nisha's love for each other, she promises them that she will get them married, giving her a necklace as a token of her promise. Moments later, she runs to answer the phone and her foot slips on the top of the stairs, causing her to fall down the stairs and hit her head several times, leading to her death.
