Ich gab Dir mein Herz, Geliebter

This is a superb movie that everyone has got to see. In my opinion, Aishwarya Rai has given her best performance till now. The movie has captured the breathtaking beauty of Rajhasthan and Gujarat and you can also view the cultural settings of India. Everyone is decked in elaborate clothes and jewellery and it's huge family living in a mansion. The story begins with a famous classical singer and his family all living in this huge mansion. He has a student coming from Italy named Sameer (Salman Khan) to learn classical music from him. Sameer meets and falls in love with his beautiful and talented daughter Nandini (Aishwarya Rai). Soon, her father finds out about this affair and orders Sameer to leave and as part of his 'gurudakshina', never to see Nandini again. He leaves and Nandini becomes really depressed. Her parents arrange her marriage with a family friend whose son Vanraj (Ajay Devgan) is a lawyer. Nandini is 'cold' to her new husband and he soon finds out why when he reads Sameer's letters to Nandini. He becomes angry but soon realizes that in order to make his wife happy, he's going to have to find Sameer. He therefore sacrifices his love for her and takes her to Italy in search for Sameer which becomes tough because Nandini doesn't have a picture of Sameer. While they are searching, Nandini gets shot by theives who take all their money and jewellery. Vanraj takes good care of her. While Nandini is in the hospital, Vanraj meets Sameer but he doesn't realize that this is the guy they are looking for. Soon, they become friends. Finally, Nandini has a chance to meet Sameer but she realizes that her feelings for him have changed. So, whom will Nandini chose? To know, you've got to watch the movie! Ajay Devgan has given one of his best performances ever. It is definitely a movie worth watching. Ash looks stunningly beautiful decked in traditional Indian clothes. The songs are also extremely good.

"Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" is Bollywood in its purest form - and a stunning achievement. It's an epic of grand emotions, gorgeously filmed and well acted. At 188 minutes, it seldom seems overlong and at the end left me crying. Yes, they pulled all the right strings.

The story tells of Sameer (Salman Khan) who comes from Italy to India to learn classic songs - and falls in love with Nandini (Aishwarya Rai), the daughter of his teacher. I don't want to spoil what happens next, but a couple of unexpected things kept me involved in the somehow simple story.

The first hour does not really progress much story-wise. It's all character development and a lot of song and dance. It's actually more a mixture of a ballet and a musical, than a film. There's more music than in your average Bollywood film - and what feels different is that it's not your usual number where the actors pretend to sing, but it's more like traditional background music, where you listen to music and the actors dance and move to it.

The second half involves a lot less music but the plot gets heavier. And until the end, it builds up. Competent direction by Sanjay Leela Banshali ("Devdas"). Additionally, the images are amazing. Director of photography Anil Mehta ("Lagaan") is in the bloom of his craft. Even if you don't like the story, you'd have to agree that it's a visual feast.

That, of course, is also true for Aishwarya Rai. 1994's Miss World has never looked this good, I believe. She radiates beauty in almost every shot and is the most charming when she's the most natural. It's easy to see why Sameer would fall in love with her. Khan plays Sameer as he plays a lot of his characters, and it works. He too looks very good in the film. Of course he takes off his shirt a lot - but his body appears more virile than in other pictures so that it too works well. Finally, Ajay Devgan plays the solid counterpart to the two love birds. His role gets more important as the film progresses and his performance comes off as both strong and restrained.

"HDDCS" might have some flaws (the music, although rather good, is not memorable), but it is great entertainment. Out of all the love stories Bollywood offers us each year, this one emerges as a winner.

Rating 8/10

As with nearly all my viewing, this was recommended by a reader.I admit that I am not as familiar with these films as I should be. Just based on popularity and persistence, they need to be understood. Gosh, it about 1 1/2 hours straight of two people falling in love before any drama sets in. Then it shifts to Budapest posing as Italy; I guess the audience would not know the difference.

The negatives are obvious. It is just too long for the trivial story. There are cultural stereotypes whose behavior must be essential to the pleasure of the thing, stereotypes I did not know. There is a ton of singing and dancing but like an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, it all sounded and looked much the same. The girl who is such a beauty that she causes two good men to fall in love dangerously deep... she's a petulant, selfish brat.

But the colors and the staging are so lush that I got a sugar high and was just about sad to see it end. I don't know anything like this in the west where the simple show is so dominant and so well done. And this is well done. There is a kite-flying scene that just took my breath away. I replayed it a few times. One of the few dramatic moments is when the couple has to be permanently separated. She hears about it an rushes through the house; her dress catches fire and she doesn't even notice, the dancing colors adding to the way the environment tells us what is going on.

I won't ruin the ending. Anywhere else I would gag, but here it was a reward — truly romantic. Now I have to look up more of this fellow's work. The way he uses the environment reminds me of a young Yimou Zhang.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

This movie is one of the best Hindi movies i have ever watched. Aishwarya Rai as Nandini was simply wonderful, Salman Khan as Samir added a little comedy in the film. The story is a romance and drama. Samir(Salman Khan) is an indo-Italian student who comes to learn to sing from Nandini's father(Vikram Gokhale)and stays a year there. In the process Nandini and Samir fall in love, but she is arranged to be married to Vanraj(Ajay Devgan). Nandini sees Samir behind her father's back. Her father finds this out and Samir is sent away. Nandini Marys Vanraj. One day she receives letters from Samir and Vanraj sees them and becomes angry. But since Vanraj loves Nandini....he takes her to Italy to find Samir. What happens next in the story....it is up to you to find out! The movie was wonderful, the locations were beautiful, the songs were the best! The acting was great!!! overall i give this movie a 9/10!

One day, a movie called "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" was released. It was one of the best movies in Hindi movies and remained that way only until a few months ago. I believe we have a movie to take that place.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a genius. What more is there to say? This movie is undoubtedly the best movie I've seen in years, packed with superb acting, beautiful costumes and dazzling scenery. It's better than Dil To Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Duplicate put together!

This is THE best movie of the year. I know the word "TAAL" comes into mind, but that was junk compared to this. Aishwarya Rai gives a MUCH better performance in this movie. She is the most surprising thing about the movie. She has proven herself to be one of the best, if not the best, talented actress. Now Aishwarya has risen to the number one actress spot on my list.

This is an absolute must for any person who watches Indian movies or even once did and now doesn't. This movie WILL NOT fail you. If possible, try to get the movie on DVD, that is the only way to recapture the actual colour from the film.