Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

"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

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.

I missed the first half which was supposed to be the "comedy" section I suppose.There were no subtitles and since I speak no Hindi,it took me some time till the first commercial to find the title and look up what the plot was supposed to be. By that time,I was already aware that Salman Khan had broken his teacher,student relationship and been banished,that he loved Nandini,that she was allowed to break things willy nilly but not to refuse marriage with a man she didn't love. The comedy part escaped me. I was about to change channels when I realized the husband was played by the young man who did such a good job in the recent movie about a young Sikh freedom fighter. When he,playing Raj, and Nandini, left for Hungary,I thought it was for a belated honeymoon. Remember-no subtitles. But THAT was supposed to be Italy????? My only complaint was that the hotel staff on the phone spoke English with an Italian accent when they were so obviously Hungarian. Silly me. I don't understand the lure of Italy perhaps when Hungary is so distinctive and charming. Why couldn't Sameer be half Hungarian? I'll buy the movie for my kids,since they ARE half Indian and half Hungarian and it was nice to hear the language and see how well the people fit in. I loved the Hungarian dance sequence. Maybe they'll redub it and take out the reference to Italy.It just wasn't right.

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.

Yes. Simply Outstanding. This is truly one of the best Bollywood movies to come out in a long, long time. A great commercial hit back in our India, it also swept all the major awards. Though I'm from India where Bollywood movies are compulsory watching, I dislike them for their absurdity but this film has me raving about it. Its simply fabulous.

Set in western India in a prosperous Gujarti household overflowing with people, lives Nandini, our heroine (the beautiful Ashwariya Rai), daughter of a renowned singer Pandit Durbar. Sameer (Salman Khan), a handsome young Italian who comes to learn classical music from the Pandit falls in love with his daughter. As the movie enfolds, we watch the beautifully enacted comedy of the star crossed lovers. But once the father comes to know, all hell breaks loose. Sameer is thrown out of the house, Nandini's heart is broken and she is married of to a young, respectable and well mannered suitor Vanraj (Ajay Devgan) who truly loves her but is detested by Nandini. But the husband also discovers about the affair, is heartbroken too, but decides to take Nandini to Italy to meet her lover.

As the plot moves to Italy (Hungary actually, which the director would have us believe as Italy), we are engaged in Nandini's and Vanraj's troubles of living in a foreign country, finding Sameer and living with each other. As she searches for her love, Nandini comes to know her husband and how much he truly loves her and realizes his grief and sense of loss in losing her. When she finally does find Sameer, she's torn between the two and must choose one of the them and break the heart of the other.

This is Bollywood at its best. Here the wonderful music that goes with this film, it underlines each scene with its sparkling melody. Also the set pieces are lavishly mounted and the music numbers burst upon the seen. The movie is also very beautifully shot.

This movie also captures Ashwariya Rai at her best. She is miraculously beautiful and lights up the screen whenever she's on it. All in all a must watch Bollywood affair. Iwould also recommend the same director's (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) Black, which is the story of a dumb, deaf and blind girl.