Mon coeur est déjà pris

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 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.

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.

HDDCS must have come straight from Sanjay Leela Bhansali's heart. Each and every scene is well-executed. It's a little unrealistic to have the husband help find the wife's lover, but movies have that little license to stretch the truth and I suggest we just let loose once in a while. Aishwarya Rai has been presented more beautifully than she already is. It's so ironic that she was once written off as wooden because she truly shines in this film. Her emotional scenes are a delight to watch. Even when she's not speaking, she communicates with her eyes, which is lovely. Even Salman Khan acts FAIRLY well in here. You can't tell when he's crying or laughing, but every time he irritates you, just turn to Ash for solace. Ajay Devgan does what he's best at. The romantic, silent hero. Hey, he's good at it, so I have no complaints.

The sceneries are beautiful. There's not a song on the soundtrack which I don't like. Chand Chupa Badal and the title song are especially beautiful. The choreography is superb. The "Tadap Tadap" scene is perhaps one of the best I've ever come across. I confess. I actually cried during that song. :P The characters are so well-etched that you really don't know who to root for. You want Salman to get the girl, but you feel for Ajay, too.

Bhansali is an artistic genius. He has surpassed his previous film (Khamoshi) with this flick. Can't wait for his Devdas.

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.