In addition to bringing in new actors, Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi gave Bollywood a new sound in 1999. The film, which was directed by the late Raj Kaushal, helped Dino Morea, Sanjay Suri, and Rinke Khanna (the sister of Twinkle Khanna) establish their careers. Additionally, it was the first appearance of vocalist Shaan and the now-famous composers Vishal and Shekhar. Even though the movie didn’t do well at the box office, its soundtrack—particularly the lively song Musu Musu Haasi, which made Dino Morea famous right away—left a lasting effect.

In a recent interview with Just Too Filmy, the actor spoke about those early days and the type of craziness the movie inspired.

“That release and the level of praise we received at the time were incredible.” I recall performing at premieres in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. He said, “I didn’t anticipate people showing up the way they did.

The result was unadulterated fandom, particularly in Kolkata.

“I recall that as I left the movie theater in Kolkata, my jacket was torn by onlookers. The jacket was made of denim. People were losing their minds. The song Musu Musu Haasi made it even more so. People adored it. Delhi and Bangalore, where I’m from, were both crazy. I was stunned. I recognized the power of film.

Dino also reflected on how fame felt more organic back then, unfiltered and without the help of today’s PR machinery. We may discuss being in relationships at that point. Because we were dating, we had a lot of coverage. Everything was natural. We didn’t do PR at the time; instead, we did pyaar. Photographers weren’t called to come stand, wait, and shoot pictures. That didn’t occur. It was just natural. It wasn’t prepared. That was the beauty of it.”

While Musu Musu Haasi made him popular, it was his 2002 horror-romance Raaz that truly established him in the film industry.

“Raaz strengthened my position in the motion picture business. People would say, ‘okay, that’s a huge success. It’s kind of arrived.’ That made me feel really confident. Raaz brought respect to horror films because before that there was nothing good in terms of horror. Raaz was primarily a love story that resonated with people around the world. That movie set me up in the industry. Suddenly the bigger stars started to congratulate me. I could see the difference.”

From chartbusters to cult horror, Dino Morea’s early journey in Bollywood was marked by real fan love and memorable milestones.