The story revolves around a village bumpkin (Arvind Swamy) with the heart of a child. He has grown up listening to his grandmother’s (Dina Pathak) fairy tales and has always imagined himself the protagonist, changing the endings of grandma’s stories if they are not happy endings. The village bumpkin saves the life of and falls in love with the city belle (A beautiful Manisha Koirala) who is visiting the countryside for a day of fun and games.Thrown into the mix is a cute baby elephant (Appu), which plays a large role in uniting the lovers. Trouble strikes the couple when the city belle’s status of Royalty is thrown in the bumpkin’s face. The city girl is a princess with big, bad relatives, all itching to gain control of her throne. So the adventure begins, with the village bumpkin and his elephant friend taking off to save the princess.
Watching the film with low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised with it. The performances are first rate by the lead pair. Arvind Swamy looks a bit old for this role, but does a fantastic job. The supporting cast does their job, but special mention must be given to Appu the Elephant, whose scenes are fun and add novelty to the film. Dina Pathak turns in a good performance as the wise grandmother, and the three children seem very comfortable in front of the camera. Finally, child artistes who don’t annoy. Jatin-Lalit´s music, as always in fantastic. Manisha, especially in ’’Aao Sune’’ looks beautiful. The lyrics by Javed Akhtar are also quite noteworthy.
The flaws of the film lie in the screenplay and the direction. National Award winner T. Rajeev Kumar has done a fine job with the technical aspects of his film but has concentrated little on the direction of the plot. The film starts off as a fun-filled fantasy, but teeters on the verge of being a romance. So if you’re looking for some heavy stuff, Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya is a film with a soul -- well, atleast 3/4 of the way.