Teri Meri Kahaani (2012): watch the full film free, legally

Three romances across a century

Teri Meri Kahaani is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy directed by Kunal Kohli. Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra each take on three roles, playing couples whose stories unfold in 1910 Sargodha, 1960 Mumbai and 2012 London. Kohli conceived the film around soulmates and the strength of love beyond generations, while deliberately avoiding a reincarnation theme. He co-wrote the screenplay with Robin Bhatt.

The three settings span 100 years. In 1910, during the British Raj, Javed Qadri is a Punjabi Muslim womaniser and poet who meets Aradhana, a young woman in Sargodha. In 1960, aspiring musician Govind crosses paths with Rukhsar, a Bollywood star. The contemporary strand follows Krrish Kapoor and Radha Chopra, university students in London. Kohli said he wanted the three stories to be modern rather than soppy or melodramatic, creating humour and situations intended to appeal broadly.

Kunal Kohli narrates the film. The supporting cast includes Vrajesh Hirjee as a journalist spying on Rukhsar and Govind, Shankar Sachdev as Javed's father Suleman Qadri, Surendra Pal as Aradhana's father, Chand Mishra as Rukhsar's manager Gangadhar, and Tarun Sharma as both Krrish's friend Chirag and Javed's friend Salim. Raj Singh Arora plays Rohan and Bharat.

Meetings, misunderstandings and divided affections

The 1960 story begins on a train bound for Bombay. Rukhsar has left her Lucknow home with her best friend in hopes of becoming a film star, while Govind is pursuing music. They bond before going separate ways on arrival. Govind later befriends Radhika, a confident, modern young woman drawn to his simplicity. When Govind and Rukhsar meet again at a party, a photojournalist follows them. Govind takes Radhika's hand to throw the journalist off, without recognising that she has fallen for him. Radhika and Rukhsar are best friends, yet neither initially knows they are speaking about the same man.

In London, Krrish meets Radha after ending his relationship with Meera on his birthday. An early misunderstanding gives way to friendship as Krrish and Radha spend time together. Meera reacts angrily after learning that they are together and uploads embarrassing photographs of Krrish to Facebook, where they go viral. Radha then learns that Krrish spent the night with her on his birthday two hours after his break-up with Meera. When she tries to confront him, he is occupied with retaliating against Meera.

The 1910 strand finds Javed meeting Aradhana while fleeing the police. His flirtatious manner irritates her, though he insists that she is different and turns his attention to her. Javed joins Aradhana's father at a protest for freedom from the British. When officers abuse the protesters, however, Javed hides as her father is beaten. Aradhana is disgusted. Javed later allows himself to be beaten and arrested in front of her, and she visits him in jail. Their relationship faces further family pressure after his release.

Building 1910, 1960 and 2012

Kohli was fascinated by 1960s Bollywood and wanted to pay tribute to Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. Rather than remake older films, he said he aimed to remake an entire era. For the London story, he sought to depict a modern romance shaped by SMS, instant messaging apps and Internet chat. Amitabh Shukla edited the film, while Sandeep Shirodkar composed the background score.

Muneesh Sappel handled art direction and Sunil Patel was the cinematographer. Sappel created three sets for the different periods after six months of research, visiting locations and using visual effects to complete the designs. The 1910 Sargodha set included a temple, mosque, market, small village and brick houses. The 1960 Mumbai work required trams, chawls, guest houses, old studios and old cinema houses. Manish Malhotra designed Chopra's costumes, and Kunal Rawal designed Kapoor's. Malhotra consulted Asha Parekh on Rukhsar's look.

Principal photography began in Mumbai in late May 2011. The London scenes were filmed at the University of Nottingham's Jubilee Campus and Stratford-upon-Avon. Filming ended in January 2012 with a four-day song shoot in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Sajid-Wajid composed five original songs and two remixes, with lyrics by Prasoon Joshi. The soundtrack was released on 6 June 2012 by T-Series. The film was released on 22 June 2012 and was made on a budget of ₹300 million, grossing ₹540 million.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Teri Meri Kahaani (film)”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.