Dil Se

Dil Se -- From the Heart

MAIN CAST:
Shahrukh Khan -- Amar
Manisha Koirala -- Meghna
Preity Zinta -- Preeti

BRIEF PLOT OVERVIEW:
After locking eyes at a train station, Amar falls madly in love with Meghna. There's just one problem: Meghna is a terrorist with no time for love. To complicate matters, Amar's parents engage him to Preeti, a pretty young girl who is the polar opposite of Meghna. Dil Se focuses on life's complications as well as complications of the heart.

FILM -- 5/5
Unlike many Bollywood films, Dil Se prefers a Hollywood template, cutting most of the melodrama and flashy colors for boiling-under-the-skin emotions and gritty reality. It is unusually but intoxicatingly intense, drawing you deep in to its world of revolutionaries and doomed love. Of particular note is the dance sequence for "Satrangi Re," where--in typical Bollywood fashion--intense displays of emotion are replaced with elaborate songs. The sexual tension is palpable, the costumes and scenery fit perfectly, and the dancing is great.

CHARACTERS -- 4.5/5
With a relatively limited cast of supporting characters, Dil Se drops most of the movie's weight on the shoulders of Shahrukh Kahn and Manisha Koirala, who handle the burden marvelously. Shahrukh brings complexity to a character who could have been dull, and Manisha softens a character who could have been too confusing. They are completely immersed in their parts, so much so that you may forget they are not really Amar and Meghna. Preity Zinta's on-screen moments are fleeting but fabulous. The one flaw is the on-screen chemistry between Shahrukh and Manisha, which is always believable but sometimes pales in comparison to the former's chemistry with other actresses, such as Kajol and Preity Zinta.

MUSIC -- 5/5
The best part about the music is the fact that every song is remarkably different, so you'll have no trouble remembering which song fits with which part of the film, yet they all blend with the film perfectly. "Chaiyya Chaiyya" is one of my absolute favorite Bollywood songs and is the soundtrack's stand-out. Other excellent songs include "Satrangi Re" (which, as I've said before, is especially great in the context of the film,) and "Jiya Jale," where Preity glows with intense beauty. I swear, you'll find your temperature rising slowly during the barely-restrained sensuality of "Satrangi Re" and skyrocketing during the unabashed sexuality of "Jiya Jale." The lyrics are gorgeous even in English, but in Hindi, they're pure poetry.

OVERALL -- 4.5/5
Dil Se received mixed reviews when it was first released, and for obvious reasons: it is much more intense and more singularly focused than the average Bollywood film, which practically negates its use as an "escape" from the drudges of every day life (which is what most Bolly films are). Nevermind the focus on terrorists or the truly disturbing rape scene, these people still want a happy ending! Yet this is also the film's strength: it stands out among other Bolly works with its mixture of traditional Indian cinema and modern Hollywood thematics. I would be much more eager to recommend this film to someone who disliked the average Bollywood movie rather than a hardcore Bollywood fan, but open-minded viewers from both sides are sure to enjoy the near-perfection that is Dil Se. Just make sure you have a feel-good film like DDLJ on hand to lift your mood afterwards!

TOTAL SCORE -- 19/20 (almost perfect)