Ishq is indeed a romantic -comedy film directed by Indra Kumar and released in 1997 in Hindi. Dalip Tahil, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Johnny Lever, and Mohan Joshi play supporting roles alongside Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Juhi Chawla, and Kajol.
The movie received mixed reviews when it premiered in theatres on November 28, 1997, but it went on to become the year’s third highest-earning picture, grossing and over $500 million units worldwide.
Filmmaker Indra Kumar had intended to release Ishq through 1991 featuring Aamir Khan and Pooja Bhatt as two of the following stars, but they dropped out owing to personal issues at the time.
Subsequently, Boney Kapoor requested Kumar to direct the movie, which he agreed to do with Sanjay Kapoor and Vivek Mushran portraying Ajay and Raja, respectively. Nevertheless, Kumar was dissatisfied with both the casting of the two, and in 1995, he filmed the movie Raja with Sanjay Kapoor. In 1996, he came up with the concept for Ishq again, and cast Ajay Devgn, Aamir Khan, Kajol, and Juhi Chawla in the major roles.
Karisma Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit were both given the parts of Kajol and Juhi Chawla, but the former rejected while the latter had scheduling conflicts. In addition, Amitabh Bachchan was cast inside the part of a guy who, after such an interval, seeks to reunite the four lovers, but he quit the movie owing to disagreements with Kumar, and Kumar eventually eliminated that character from the movie. Ishq was Kumar’s first film without Madhuri Dixit in the starring role, and his second with Aamir Khan following Dil in the 1990s. Kumar and Devgn worked together for the first time on this movie.
During the filming of the movie, Aamir Khan made a joke on Juhi Chawla, which infuriated her.
Anu Malik created the soundtrack for the film. The Ishq original album was the sixth best-selling Bollywood soundtrack album of the year, selling 3 million copies. The popular song “Neend Churai Meri” used the melody from the Linear ballad “Sending All My Love.” Malik’s nephew Amaal Malik recreated the movie as Maine Tujhko Dekha for the movie “ Golmaal Again.
The film was a box office success. It made 53.2 crores on a budget of ten crores. In 2019, its gross is comparable to 368 crore when adjusted for inflation. After Dil To Pagal Hai and Border, it was the third highest-grossing Indian film of 1997.
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