Dil Se..

Infatuation, stalking, creepiness, forcing upon a lady who is not interested, false propaganda, poor storyline, illogical ending. 10 stars for compositions.

This film was not a hit in India. This is not surprising as it was not a typical Bollywood film. This is not to say that it is a bad film. It has a good story, good performances, mind blowing music and very good ending. Unlike most Hindi films, "Dil Se..." is not loaded with dialogues. Most of the "talking" is done through expressions. Leaving the audience to think for themselves. Perhaps this is why Indian audiences did not embrace this film and Indians living abroad did. ManiRathnam proves with this film that like Shekur Kapoor he would not be out of place in Hollywood making big budget films that captivate the audience. A must see!

"Dil Se" is easily the most cerebral film churned out by commercial Indian cinema in the last decade. It is not presented as a separatist polemic, nor should it be considered as such (as a lot of myopic viewers have done). Nor is it a film about terrorism. It is essentially a love story told against the backdrop of terrorism. Mani Ratnam is at his best, producing what can only be called surreal realism. Many of you may have forgotten, but once upon a time Shah Rukh Khan was a good actor, and this is easily one of his best performances. Preity Zinta is the only glimmer of relief in this heavy handed tale of darkness and despair. This was also her first film. Rahman's songs are his career best, each of the six tracks more replendent than the last. Above all, however, Dil Se belongs to the luminously gifted Manisha Koirala, who delivers a crushing and skinless portrayal of a reluctant avenger. In a role of almost no dialogue, she speaks volumes through her reticent glances and a body language that is burdened by sorrow. It is a sin that such dramatically gifted actresses like Manisha, Tabu, Juhi, Nandita Das, etc. are relegated to competing for potboiler non-roles that crown glamorous dance queens like Aishwariya, Amisha, Madhuri and ilk the top of the heap. India has great actors- the film industry just doesn't know how to utilize them.

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 was the first actual Bollywood film I've ever seen. I knew nothing about it going in, other than that it was considered a classic and featured "that Indian guy" (Khan) who shows up in every other film. Needless to say, after I became accustomed to the singing and dancing, I was able to dig in to the film a bit. It got slow at times but I was intensely interested in figuring out what the heck was going on. In the final moments of the film, my friend and I just sat frozen. I've never seen a movie that had singing, dancing, and ended with a bang. Needless to say, I'm hooked on Bollywood and determined to make everyone I know watch this film.