There is a dialogue in the film which is on the lines of 'Hansi Aati Hai Ki Aajkal Ke Zamaane Mein Aapke Jaise Log Bhi Hai'. Well, this could well be true for the film which actually makes one exclaim - 'Bhai, yeh kis zamaane ki picture hai'.
Two warring families, their kids falling in love and the tension that follows - the formula was reinvented in the late 80s when Aamir Khan serenaded Juhi chawla amidst blazing guns even as Goga Kapoor and Dilip Tahil fought it out. This time around, the veteran actors are replaced by Mohnish Behl and Mukesh Tiwari with youngsters Aditya Samanta and Nazia Hassan in tow. Sadly, the magic is totally missing.
Producer Ashim Samanta had promised that 'Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai' would be a film about old values but presented in a new avtar. However, even the exotic foreign locales can't really compensate for a boring narrative that just doesn't excite you or make you pine for the lovers.
Frankly, Aditya comes across as a little awkward and though the endeavour would have been to present him as-is as the boy next door, a much better polished act would have helped.
On the other hand Nazia has a photogenic face but there is as much as even she could do in this storyline that is age old with hardly any excitement in store.
Ironically, the scenes that actually grab your attention to some bits are the ones centred on Mohnish Behl and Mukesh Tiwari.
Yes, the scenes belong to the era gone by but once you have settled down to the fact that it is a (Late) Raj Kanwar territory that one is entering with some high decibel drama at play, you do end up enjoying some bit of drama that plays on screen.
However that doesn't really mean that 'Yeh Jo Mobahhat Hai' turns out to be a film that could still fall under the watchable category.
With boredom setting in quite frequently, even some of the well composed tunes (by Anu Malik) don't really help the cause. In fact what sounded reasonably fine on audio is let down by some unimaginative choreography, what with locations expected to compensate for lack of effective picturisation and choreography.
The film marks the directorial debut of Shree Narayan Singh whose name was attached to 'A Wednesday' as an editor. However, his first time effort behind the camera isn't really striking enough to make you applaud in appreciation.
As for the banner resurrection, Ashim Samanta would now have to think of something far more out of the box or out and out 'masala' in a new jar to bring back some excitement.
Rating: *1/2
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