Von ganzem Herzen

This is one of the greatest and most crafted works of the incredible Mani Ratnam. I was stunned by every moment of it and the very first scene was enough for me to get completely hooked. Mr Ratnam's ability to make a grandiose love story and yet keep it starkly realistic is just unbelievable. It makes the viewer believe that true, intense love does not exist only in fairy tales, but in real-life too, with simple and ordinary people. Dil Se is a rare gem of its times - authentic, hard-hitting, gripping, and deeply involving. Some people have deemed it a bit slow and tedious, but according to me the film moves at a steady pace and is totally focused, engaging and captivating.

The film's concept: a young, hard-working radio broadcaster falls in love with a mysterious, strangely apathetic woman who is actually a terrorist may have been tackled before by filmmakers around the world, but none has done it the way Mr Ratnam did. He directs this feature with heart and soul and intensifies it with complete mastery, so much that you cannot leave the screen even for one moment (even if you are one of those who prefer skipping the songs). The script is grounded in tension and mystery, and it thankfully avoids sentimentality. And then we also have some genuinely real yet exceptional dialogues, which bring forth a poetic quality that eases the serious proceedings.

Every artist involved in this film gives one of their best. A.R Rahman, for one, creates one of the most crafted and beautiful movie soundtracks of his career, giving so much life and essence to the film. The songs flow incredibly well with the film, they never feel unnecessary, they fit the situations, and ultimately enhance the narrative and contribute to the film's mystery and intense atmosphere. "Dil Se Re", "Jiya Jale", "Chaiyya Chaiyya" and "Satrangi Re" - each track is a gem and showcases the greatness of Rahman and Ratnam, who visualises them exceedingly well on-screen. This of course could have been done without Santosh Sivan's brilliant cinematography.

The performances are top notch. This is one of Shahrukh Khan's most accomplished and realistic performances. He is intense, witty, vulnerable, believable and convincing as Amar. He portrays a suffering man who would go to any strengths for a woman he hardly knows, and though his character's unconditional love may seem peculiar, he manages to keep it real and balanced. He conveys his feelings, whether it's sorrow, love, pain or anger, in his own inimitable style, using his troubling intensity and nervous mannerisms. One can really feel for the pain in his eyes, which is evident every time he meets this woman who keeps rejecting him. A superb act.

Manisha Koirala, one of the most talented dramatic actresses India has seen, is flawless as Meghna. She smiles barely once in the entire film but her expressive eyes and silence speak volumes and always do the job. It's a natural and ambiguous portrayal of a woman who has lost belief in life and love, or at least of someone who compels herself to think so. She brilliantly displays the little nuances which let us sense her constant fights with herself and her struggle to not submit to her feelings every time she faces the bright side of the world, forcefully and firmly fossilising herself for the sake of a mission which must be completed.

Preity Zinta, the star herself in her debut film, does something very few actors have been capable of doing: she makes a great impact despite having a very small role. It's a great achievement for any actor to excel and make a lasting impression with a role of such minimal importance and screen time. She is natural, vibrant and very likable, commanding the audience's attention with her strong screen presence and lively persona. She's always been known for her ability to add happiness and positivity to films which are overly serious and dark, and this one is no exception. Her full of life, frank and direct Preeti is one of the most unforgettable characters in recent years.

Dil Se is a socially relevant movie but it is a love story at heart and there it scores the most. It may not appeal to all kinds of audiences (in fact, it was a box office failure in India, though a success overseas), more because of its brutally honest depiction of terror and national battle, yet it remains thoroughly fascinating. The film is atmospheric, dark and deep. The only aspects that abstract the viewer from these features may be the energetic music and Preity Zinta's light character. In anyway, it is a picture of great artistic excellence, and I would recommend anyone to see it. The ending is also most unpredictable, only making it more beautiful and memorable.

This is a haunting film. Everyone raves about the music and cinematography (which of course are excellent), but I wanted to write about the often maligned plot. After seeing Dil Se for the second time, it was easier to see how the seemingly irrational actions of the characters were a result of their life circumstances. I understood much better why Amar was compelled to pursue Meghna; if you've ever been in love with the wrong person, you'll understand too. Meghna is like many other damaged people I've known: capricious, confused, sometimes cruel to others, but in the end her own worst enemy. Both know that their paths are not supposed to join (and pay lip service to that fact), but find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other. This is evident by Amar's reaction to seeing Meghna at his engagement, and again in Meghna's attempts to convince herself to feel nothing but fiery patriotism. It is this relentless attraction that forces the shattering scene at the end of the movie--there is no other way for them to be together. This is a very thought-provoking movie, but it does require you to think--not the sort of thing to watch mindlessly while munching on popcorn. It will move you to your core, if you let it.

Mani Ratnam's Dil Se is a classic example of casting gone wrong for a very good storyline. Well, at least, for the male lead. Such was the persona of Shah Rukh Khan as a romantic hero that it was improbable that the burning issue of North-East insurgence would salvage this wonderfully-crafted film from the fate it suffered.

On the whole, the film impresses, with its breath-taking visuals of Ladakh and the North-East, the mesmerizing music, and a fiery performance from Manisha Koirala. Granted that Priety Zinta was more of an ugly duckling than the elegant woman she is now, hers was a delightful debut. But the biggest disappointment is Shah Rukh. Tied to a role light years apart from the moon-gazing, mandolin-strumming Casanova that he was so accustomed to, he fails to bring the required wee-bit restraint to an investigating reporter. Perhaps, movies with hard-hitting realism were not his forte then.

Despite that, there are plenty of sequences worth remembering: the disturbing throwbacks into Meghna's (Manisha) past; the awkward interaction between Amar (Shah Rukh) and Preeti (Zinta) and that song on top of a train. I read somewhere that the songs were brilliant to listen to, but were inserted at the most inappropriate of moments in the film. I don't disagree. However, considering the length and the pace of the storyline, I wouldn't blame the editor and the director either. In any case, the songs are fabulous on their own and take the listener on a rich and vibrant journey of foot-tapping modernity and old world classicism. There is also a mournful melody rendered by the then-rejuvenated Sukhwinder Singh that somehow escaped a listing on the soundtrack. Maybe, you need to watch the movie to savor that.

It is definitely worth watching and more realistic than the fare dished out by Karan Johar and his ilk, but it is more an adventure of human motivations than a treatise on terrorism that the filmmakers would like us to believe. Pity, it suffered badly at the box-office.

This movie is close to my heart. It stands out as one of a kind to me in the world of Bollywood cinema, which is usually frivolous and contrived. Every part of this movie was well-made, the music was used brilliantly and it was just emotionally very touching. The chemistry between Shahrukh and Manisha was subtle but definitely there. Manisha's acting in this difficult role was done superbly. It is surprising that many people disliked this movie because of the ending, as I think it was beautifully portrayed. My favorite movie of all time- I would recommend this movie to anyone who is a hopeless romantic like myself and would do anything for love.

The problem with Hindi cinema is its very strong formalistic framework where it has to fit in. It must pass the censors, must be made for a billion of mostly analphabets and must contain a great number of song and dance scenes. Mani Ratnam is one (and only?) director who constantly extents this genre to embrace the producers, the popular audience and the critical and political aware intellectuals with his strong political claims ("Roja", "Bombay"). This one now beats it all and everybody (in India) talked about it. Such an end was not seen before in Hindi cinema, and all fits perfectly well (despite to what some other critics said). And it works even if you know the end before (which most do).

It's my current favorite. Technically superb, very sophisticated content, big fun and emotions. An american version would have been a typical political thriller about an unlucky love to a female terrorist, but Mani Ratnam gives us 300%. Not just the Indian Spielberg or Tsui Hark, this is more. Go for it.