Deepak Shivdasani's “Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke” is a story about mistaken identities.
The film has Bollywood's dhak dhak girl Madhuri Nene making a comeback after a long sabbatical from the big screen. She plays the role of a traumatized wife. Ajay Devgan and Preity Zinta play the young and slap-happy lovers while Sunny Deol makes a friendly appearance in the role of Madhuri's ex-beau.
Vicky (Ajay) and Sakshi (Preity) are lovers and partners-in-crime. Together they steal cars, gamble in casino and swindle greedy millionaires. One day a slight tiff between them and a dastardly car-dealer's brother leads to a dangerous brawl and accidental death of the dealer's brother.
In a bid to avenge the death of his brother, the car-dealer mistakenly kills Vicky's look-alike Rohit (Ajay again). Even Sakshi mistakes Rohit as Vicky and is heart-broken to see his dead body. But Vicky, oblivious of the incident, is on his way to Manali.
When he reaches Manali, he is stunned to see that everyone is mistaking him for Rohit.
So stark is the resemblance between the two that even Rohit's wife Neha (Madhuri) is unable to tell one from the other.
Here the swindler in Vicky sees a golden opportunity. He strikes a deal with Rohit's millionaire father (Mohan Gokhale) to impersonate Rohit for a few days so that Neha is spared the trauma of her husband's unexpected death. But, as they say, 'once a thief always a thief'. Vicky soon gets tired of playing the good hubby and flees with pocketfuls of jewelry to reunite with Sakshi.
Once in Delhi, Vicky realizes that he is the cause behind Rohit's death. As his conscience pricks him, he decides to go back to Manali to alleviate Neha's anguish. But Sakshi is not the one to let go of her man so easily.
Torn between Neha and Sakshi, which way will Vicky choose?
Deepak Shivdasani had the potential to explore the subtle nuances of relationships in a sensitive story that is based on the premise of mistaken identity. But he loses track mid-way owing to a flimsy screenplay by Robin Bhatt. Film's music by the young composer duo Sanjeev-Darshan has various shades.
Madhuri Nene looks resplendent throughout the movie clad in Ritu Beri-designed apparels and sporting jewelry. She maintains her ease before the camera and delivers a polished performance as a traumatized wife. Ajay Devgan does his now-thief-now-husband act with conviction and Preity Zinta oozes vivacity in a petty thief's shoes.
Madhuri in Prakash Jha´s Rajniti
