2016 Film Sanam Teri Kasam

Produced by Deepak Mukut, the film stars Harshvardhan Rane and Mawra Hocane in their Hindi film debut, with Anurag Sinha, Manish Chaudhari, Murli Sharma and Sudesh Berry. The film is a modern rendition of the legends of Shiva-Sati and the novel Love Story by Eric Segal.

Sanam Teri Kasam
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Radhika Rao Vinay Sapru
Written by	Radhika Rao Vinay Sapru
Produced by	Deepak Mukut
Starring	Harshvardhan Rane Mawra Hocane Anurag Sinha
Cinematography	Chirantan Das
Music by	Himesh Reshammiya
Production companies	Jhoom Jhoom Productions Soham Rockstar Productions
Distributed by	Eros International
Release date	5 February 2016 (2016-02-05) (India)
Running time	154 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹25 crore (US$3.1 million)
Box office	₹16.03 crore (US$2.0 million)

Sanam Teri Kasam tells the story of a tough ex-convict Inder and a traditional librarian Saru. Inder and Saru fall in love and get married but a tragedy changes their lives forever. The cinematography was done by Chirantan Das, the music is given by Himesh Reshammiya, while the lyrics are written by Reshammiya, Sameer Anjaan, Shabbir Ahmed and Subrat Sinha.

Sanam Teri Kasam was released worldwide on 5 February 2016 under Eros International. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics, and grossed over ₹16 crore (US$2.0 million).

Rane received the Stardust Award for Superstar of Tomorrow – Male nomination for his performance, the only nomination for the film.

A huge crowd of people and the media congratulates lawyer Inder Lal Parihaar after he wins a case. Later, he returns home and grabs a bottle of wine from the wine cellar and walks towards a tree, as a flashback ensues.

Saraswati "Saru" Parthasaarthy is an extremely traditional Telugu librarian, who gets rejected by many suitors, who find her "old-fashioned" and "unappealing”. Her younger sister Kaveri's fiancé issues her an ultimatum to marry him within a month or else move on. But their strict father, Jayram Parthasarthy says that her wedding cannot happen till Saru gets married, since she is the elder sister. Enraged, Kaveri insults her and threatens to elope. Saru begs her not to elope and hurt Jayram, and promises Kaveri that she will find a husband soon. Living in the same building is Inder Lal Parihaar, then a handsome ex-convict, who is known for his tough attitude and his physique. He is in a relationship with renowned fashionista stylist, Ruby Malhotra. Jayram views them as a bad influence to society because he finds them embarrassing. After a few days, however, they break up. Saru and Inder first meet in the lift and have subsequent meetings in the library where Saru works.

When Saru's parents are out of town, Saru secretly meets Inder, seeking help to get a makeover appointment from Ruby though she knows they’ve broken up. She wants to impress her office crush, Abhimanyu Shastry, who holds a degree in IIT. During their conversation, a drunken Ruby barges in and presumes Inder to be cheating on her; in a fit of rage, she insults Saru then throws a wine bottle at Saru, but Inder shields her and gets badly injured. They leave the apartment, so he can get treatment. Meanwhile, the apartment security guard watches them leave together and misunderstands the situation as an intimate one. He alerts all the elders of the building and neighborhood. Unaware, Saru helps Inder tend to his wounds despite his reluctance. Later, Jayram returns early from his trip. He and the elders find Saru with Inder on his bed, misunderstanding the situation once again. An embarrassed Jayram disowns her soon after.

Saru tells her mother, Arundhati, what really happened that night, but asks her not to tell Jayram, because he has finally consented to Kaveri's wedding. Inder helps her find an apartment and also gets her a makeover with help from a local hairdresser, Mushtaqeen. With her new makeover, she grabs the attention of Abhimanyu. Meanwhile, Inder falls in love with her, but keeps quiet when Abhimanyu proposes to her, because he wants her to be happy. However, Abhimanyu rejects her on the day of the wedding, because his father does not want a disowned daughter-in-law. Saru is left heartbroken and goes to her honeymoon suite. From there, Saru and Inder spend the night together.

The next morning, Inder witnesses Saru embracing Abhimanyu and leaves heartbroken. Inder spirals into depression, breaking off all contacts with Saru. When he learns from Abhimanyu that Saru had actually rejected Abhimanyu's request for a second chance, he tracks her down and finds her in a Buddhist monastery, where he professes his love to her. Saru passes out and Inder takes her to the hospital, where he discovers she is suffering from meningioma and has very few days to live. He forcibly enters Saru's parents' house and demands they stop pretending their daughter is dead. The next day he is arrested for charges pressed by Jayram. Saru gets discharged and goes to the library, where she discovers the secret messages Inder left for her on check-out slips, realizing that he has loved her from the beginning. The two unite and Saru asks Inder to marry her.

That night, Saru tells him that after her death, she desires to be buried under a beautiful flowering tree. Inder meets Jayram and tells him that he is marrying Saru and can even die for her. On their wedding day, Saru's parents arrive and accept their wedding. Saru faints after the wedding and gets hospitalised. Her parents learn about her disease, and Jayram feels heartbroken and guilty. Inder asks his father, Rajinder Lal Parihar, with whom he has a strained relationship, to acquire for him the land under the tree for Saru's burial. Saru dies in Inder's arms, and Inder is left heartbroken. Inder finds Rajinder in the hospital and reconciles with him.

Now a successful lawyer, Inder stands at the tree that marks Saru's grave. He asserts that she must be happy to see him successful and sober. He says that he misses her and expresses a promise of eternal true love.

• Harshvardhan Rane as Inder Lal Parihaar
• Mawra Hocane as Saraswati "Saru" Parthasaarthy Parihaar
• Manish Chaudhari as Jayram Parthasaarthy
• Pyumori Mehta Ghosh as Arundhati Parthasaarthy
• Divyetta Singh as Kaveri Parthasaarthy
• Murli Sharma as Inspector Hari Nikam
• Sudesh Berry as Rajinder Lal Parihaar
• Anurag Sinha as Abhimanyu Shastry
• Shraddha Das as Ruby Malhotra
• Ripu Daman Singh as Sanjay
• Vijay Raaz as Mushtaqeen Bhai
• Rushad Rana as Doctor
• Siddhant Ghegadmal as Amit
• Alok Pandey as Watchman
• Ravii Sharma as Pandit
• Krishna Rathod

Development

In 2015, the director duo Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru announced the film, that would be distributed by Eros International. The film was inspired from the classic legends of Shiva and his consort Sati. Sanam Teri Kasam is also inspired from Erich Segal's bestseller novel, Love Story. The film derive its name from a song of the 1982 Hindi film Sanam Teri Kasam.

Casting

 

Harshvardhan Rane was cast to play Inder, an alcoholic lawyer. Rane termed the film and his role a "dream come true". Rane said that he modeled his character on Salman Khan and his father, and added, "I’ve modeled my character in Sanam Teri Kasam on my father who is stern on the outside but all heart inside. I couldn’t be any luckier than this."

Pakistani actress Mawra Hocane was cast to play Saraswati, a South Indian girl who is a librarian. Hocane said that she is "extremely grateful" to be a part of the film. She added, "I did Sanam Teri Kasam because there was scope to perform. I played the nerdy, introvert who transforms into the quintessential Bollywood heroine." The film mark both the leads bollywood debut.

Manish Chaudhari and Pyumori Mehta Ghosh were cast as Saru's parents and Divyetta Singh as Saru's sister. Sudesh Berry was cast as Inder's father. Murli Sharma was cast as Inspector, Anurag Sinha as Saru's ex-fiancé and Shraddha Das as Inder's ex-girlfriend.

Filming

 

The principal photography commenced in 2015. The film was primarily shot in Delhi, Mumbai and Cape Town. The Parsi Colony in Dadar, Mumbai and the Central Library in Cape Town, were among the main shooting locations of the film. While shooting for the song "Tera Chehra", Hocane had to spend 21 hours in a bathtub. During a sequence, Rane was injured and suffered bruises.

Sanam Teri Kasam's songs were composed by Himesh Reshammiya. The lyrics were penned by Sameer Anjaan, Shabbir Ahmed, Reshammiya and Subrat Sinha. The title track was released on 22 December 2015, and the complete album was released on 7 January 2016. The tune of song "Haal-E-Dil" was first finalised for Tere Naam, but eventually did not made it into the soundtrack. The soundtrack received positive reviews and praises from critics.

Sanam Teri Kasam's first look of the film was unveiled on 7 December 2015 by Eros Now via a tweet and was scheduled for release on 8 January 2016. Trailer of the film was released on 15 December 2015 with a new release date of 5 February. Film was released worldwide on 5 February 2016 under the production banner of Eros Now. The film was also screened at Bollywood Film Festival in Moscow, in December 2016. Sanam Teri Kasam was later made available on Amazon Prime Video and Jio Cinema.

Critical reception

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with praises towards the performances and music, but criticism for its screenplay.

Hindustan Times gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "With brilliant production values and performances, it manages to draw you into the lives of Saru and Inder and moistens your eyes too. The last fifteen minutes of the film, which drags a bit. Else, theirs is a love story that will touch your heart without a doubt." Bollywood Hungama gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and said, "Sanam Teri Kasam is a decent assortment of good performances and superb music. However, the excessive length of the film will act as a biggest single drawback at the box-office."

Times of India gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "As long as the focus stays on its leads, the film does a good job, from Inder softening every time he is around Saraswati, to watching them goof around in Kheech Meri Photo, they are a treat from the word go." News18 gave it 2 out of 5 stars and said, "The cast and the music deserves a mention. The 155 minutes for a cliché love story amidst an ugly-duckling-turning-into-swan is just too much." Filmfare noted, "Sanam Teri Kasam proves that good talent can shine through bad films. Harshvardhan Rane and Mawra Hocane are definitely better than the tripe they act out. Sadly their efforts are wasted in this weepy romance that’s tedious and long drawn. But the saving grace of the film is its music, this film definitely had potential, but it needed better execution and a lot less yawns."

Film Companion and Pinkvilla placed Sanam Teri Kasam in their "Most Emotional Films" list.

Box-office

Sanam Teri Kasam grossed approximately ₹1.25 crore (US$160,000) on the first day of its release, ₹4.66 crore (US$580,000) on the weekend and ₹18 crore (US$2.3 million) in the first week. In the overseas market, the film grossed approximately ₹16.03 crore (US$2.0 million). Sanam Teri Kasam was declared "above average" at the box office by all the trade publications, with a total collection of ₹56 crore (US$7.0 million).

Harshvardhan Rane, the lead actor of the first film announced the film will have a sequel, with him returning to the cast. Director Vinay Sapru added, "We’re really happy that we could crack a story for this one. It moves ahead - it talks about what happens to Harshvardhan's character after Mawra Hocane’s character dies in the first outing." In February 2024, Rane revealed that the plans of the sequel has been dropped due to "box office failure" of the original.

• List of highest-grossing Bollywood films
• List of Hindi films of 2016