Rangeela Completes 25 Years: When Aamir Khan, Urmila Matondkar and Jackie Shroff’s Love Triangle Inspired a Hollywood Film!

It is hard to be believe that Rangeela has completed 25 years, making the '90s kid in me feel ancient now. The film that came out in 1995 was a smash hit, first attracting eyeballs with AR Rahman's score and Urmila Matondkar's alluring sex appeal, and then due the Ram Gopal's heartwarming take on Bollywood and love (his best, lightest film to date) and Aamir Khan's terrific performance. People are writing their odes and known trivia about the movie. So here's one from us - how many of you know that Rangeela's plot had even inspired a Hollywood film? Aamir Khan Birthday Special: The Many Proud ‘Firsts’ of Mr Perfectionist in His Four-Decade Plus Film Career!

The film in question is the 2004 movie Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!. Directed by Robert Luketic, the romantic comedy starred Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, and Josh Duhamel. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! revolves around Rosalee (Bosworth), a girl working in a department store in a small town who has a crush on Hollywood star Tad Hamilton (Duhamel). She is also seemingly oblivious to the feelings of her co-worker Pete (Grace).

Thanks to a contest, which is also a PR exercise to cleanse Tad's image, Rosalee gets a chance to go on a date with Tad. While the first date is disastrous, an interested Tad continues to pursue her over the next few days, bringing them closer and leaving Pete jealous. Ram Gopal Varma Teases Urmila Matondkar After Sharing Her Throwback Pic From Shekhar Kapur’s Masoom (Read Tweet)

In the end, however, Rosalee recognises Pete's true love for her, which feels more genuine than the feelings Tad has for her. She returns to Pete, who is trying to leave the town, and he asks her for a dance.

Watch the Trailer for Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!:

Doesn't the premise sound very familiar? Of course, there are some huge differences between Rangeela and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!. Apart from the love triangle, Rangeela is also an ode to Bollywood. The protagonist Mili (Urmila), being a background dancer, who gets noticed by the star in her next film, Raj Kamal (Jackie Shroff) and is promoted as the heroine of the movie. Yup, she also has a celeb crush on him.

The third angle, Munna (Aamir Khan), isn't really a Mr Nice Guy per se as Grace's Pete, but a street-smart ruffian who sells movie tickets for black. He also happens to be her childhood friend, harbouring a secret crush for her. Raj Kamal also falls for her, but never expresses his feelings, while assuming she also feels the same. It is only towards the end, during the premiere of their film, he realises that she never loved him, and actually was oblivious of his feelings, and then takes it upon himself to reunite the lovebirds.

While Rangeela sounds different and is a superior film than WADWTH, also a bigger hit, the basic love triangle in both the films is suspiciously same. So this does make that rare case of Hollywood copying Bollywood in a film! Happy Birthday Jackie Shroff: 5 Lesser Known Facts About The Rangeela Actor.

Rangeela's success cemented two personalities as a permanent part of Bollywood - director Ram Gopal Varma and music composer AR Rahman. Ram Gopal Varma had made two great Hindi films in Shiva and Raat, but they didn't give him as much recognition as Rangeela did. Rahman was already a known name thanks to his score for Tamil films, especially in Roja and Bombay. But it was Rangeela that officially brought him to Bollywood.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 08, 2020 01:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).