Year: 1999
Runtime: 163 mins
Language: Hindi
Director: Lawrence D'Souza
When her fiancé Vijay is presumed dead after a car crash, pregnant Pooja consents to marry Amar, the childhood friend who has always loved her. Just as she begins a new life with Amar, Vijay miraculously reappears, thrusting her into a painful dilemma between past devotion and present commitment.
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Read the complete plot breakdown of Aarzoo (1999), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.
Dayashankar [Amrish Puri] is a wealthy NRI living in London with his wife Parvati [Reema Lagoo] and daughter Pooja [Madhuri Dixit], who is the apple of his eye. He also treats his deceased best friend’s son Amar [Saif Ali Khan] as a surrogate son and has always hoped that Amar would marry Pooja. Studying in Edinburgh, Amar is delighted when he is invited to stay with the family in London. He eagerly prepares for his meeting with Pooja, planning to ask Dayashankar for her hand in marriage as soon as possible.
But Pooja has other plans — she has fallen in love with Vijay Khanna [Akshay Kumar], a pilot, and she intends to marry him. This disappoints Dayashankar, who has tacitly promised Amar that he would be the one to wed Pooja. After some gentle coaxing from Parvati and Amar, who decide to give up on marrying Pooja, Dayashankar agrees to respect his daughter’s wishes. Though heartbroken, Amar puts on a brave face during Vijay and Pooja’s engagement and marriage.
Tragedy strikes when Vijay is declared dead in an aviation accident. Pooja becomes a widow and discovers she is pregnant. Her father urges abortion, warning that society would harshly judge them and might call the child a “bastard.” Amar steps forward, offering to marry Pooja and raise the child as his own. Pooja slowly realizes Amar’s long-standing love and begins to reciprocate.
In a twist of fate, years later the police reveal that Vijay is alive, and after his recovery he returns to the UK to reclaim Pooja. She is overjoyed, but Vijay misreads the situation, believing that Amar engineered the accident to win Pooja. He joins forces with Kailashnath [Paresh Rawal], an old enemy of Amar’s father, and they hatch a plan for revenge, even as Vijay suspects nothing of the truth. The plan includes destroying Amar’s factories and kidnapping Pooja’s son, Rahul, not realizing the boy is his own child. Pooja tries to explain that she married Amar to give her child a father, but Vijay remains wary and angry.
Dayashankar finally reveals that he orchestrated the supposed murder of Vijay to protect the family. With the danger still looming, Amar, Pooja, Vijay, and Dayashankar work together to safeguard Rahul. As they confront Kailashnath and his gang, Kailashnath shoots Amar multiple times, but Amar uses his body as a shield to protect the child. Dayashankar then shoots Kailashnath to death. Amar dies surrounded by a grieving Pooja, a remorseful Vijay, their rescued son Rahul, and a saddened Dayashankar. In a final moment of reconciliation, Pooja and Vijay honor Amar’s memory and choose to face the future together.
Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 09:35
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