Apurva Asrani has revealed the real-life love story that inspired his 2005 music video Tera Mera Pyaar. The filmmaker recently celebrated the song crossing 95 million views on YouTube and shared that the story of his parents' first meeting in a cinema hall was behind the video.
Tera Mera Pyaar, sung by Kumar Sanu, featured Nimrat Kaur in her debut music video. The video follows a young man and woman who meet at a theatre and slowly fall in love. Shot almost entirely in slow motion, it captured the excitement and awkwardness of two strangers experiencing those first moments of attraction.
Sharing a video of himself spending time with his family and dogs at home, Asrani spoke about the song and its special place in his life.
He wrote, "Tera Mera Pyaar, a music video that I produced, edited & directed has clocked 95 million views on YouTube. Over the years, my work as a writer/-editor has taken me from the gritty underworld of Satya to the courtroom battles of Shahid, the profound loneliness of Aligarh, and the domestic drama of Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors."
He added, "But Tera Mera Pyar & Yeh Kya Hua will always occupy a special place in my heart. Maybe because they were inspired by the true story of how my parents met in a cinema hall. Their chance encounter became a love story immortalised in a music video, and in a way, the reason I exist."
The personal connection also influenced the way Asrani presented the romance on screen. Instead of rushing through the story, he used slow motion to capture every glance and small moment between the characters as they began to fall for each other.
"We made a video that slows time, because thats what happens when two people begin to fall in love. Big hug to Nimrat Kaur @nimratofficial and Bhanu Sudan @bhanusudan, who both brought such beauty, grace and emotion to the screen. This was Nimrat's debut, and watching her journey since has been a joy."
For Nimrat, Tera Mera Pyaar marked the beginning of her journey in front of the camera. She went on to build a successful acting career, while the music video remained one of her earliest screen appearances.
Asrani also remembered the musicians behind the song and expressed his gratitude that it continues to find listeners more than two decades later. "Twenty-one years later, I'm overwhelmed that the song continues to find new listeners and even more love, and that fills me with gratitude. My deepest thanks to Hardeep and Prem for creating such enduring music; to Kumar Sanu @kumarsanuofficial and Shreya Ghoshal @shreyaghoshal for lending their timeless voices to the album and to the two videos that I made."
He further thanked Sony Music India, cinematographer Shooter Seth and the team who helped bring the project to life. "Thank you to the label, @sonymusicindia for giving your all to the album & to the videos, to @shooterseth for lensing it & grading it so beautifully and to @dankumar777 for entrusting me with it and supporting the vision so wholeheartedly. Some songs fade with time, while some carve a special place in people's memories. Tera Mera Pyar has been fortunate enough to do the latter," she concluded.
More than 20 years after its release, Tera Mera Pyaar continues to find an audience.
