“Shahjahan” (2001) is a super-duper romantic melodrama. The film starred Vijay, Richa Pallod and Krishna in lead roles. The movie chronicles the efforts of a young man, famous for his sage advice on love, who helps one of his friends get the woman of his dreams. His entry into the fray quickly thrusts him down a challenging personal moral quandary.
Ashok is an irresistible young romantic whose day job consists of helping star-crossed couples escape their families’ entrenched opposition to love across partisan lines. He is joined in his mission by his loyal friends, Boopathi Ramaiyaa and Seenu. Ashok falls for Uma Maheshwari, called Mahee, an engineering student, but keeps his feelings hidden due to a tragic past involving his friend Giri.
Through Giri’s narrative we discover his unreciprocated romance with Aisha, who committed suicide after her family’s opposition drove her to a psychological collapse. At the same time, Ashok’s best friend Raja asks for assistance in wooing Mahee, not realizing that the girl of his dreams is, unbeknownst to him, the same mysterious girl. As Raja and Mahee's secret romance grows, Ashok helps them, ignorant of their feelings for each other.
When Mahee’s father learns of their romance, Mahee seeks Ashok’s assistance and he helps the couple even at his own expense. In one encounter, after an altercation breaks out, Ashok is injured in the process of defending his friends from a group of white supremacists. Though he is, as we’ve learned, dying inside, he is still committed to helping people become a match made in heaven, even if it kills him.
“Shahjahan” is an emotional romantic drama about a young man dispensing advice on love while secretly battling his own heart. At the heart of this vague and complicated film lies the overture of friendship, sacrifice, and unspoken love that makes this story complicated but still relatable, showing the beauty and pain of selflessness. Packed with entertaining musical numbers and heartfelt performances, it tackles the challenges of placing other’s joy over your own to create a heartfelt and achingly sweet story.