Dil Se.. (1998)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Mani Ratnam

Writers:

Tigmanshu Dhulia (dialogue)
Mani Ratnam (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 August 1998 (India)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Musical | Thriller

Plot:

The clash between love and ideology is portrayed in this love story between a radio executive and a beautiful revolutionary

Plot Keywords:

Love | Radio | Terrorism | Engagement | Suicide

Awards:

7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Shahrukh Khan	...	Amarkanth Varma
Manisha Koirala	...	Meghna
Preity Zinta	...	Preeti Nair
Raghuvir Yadav	...	Shukla (as Raghuvir Yadhav)
Sabyasachi Chakraborty
Piyush Mishra
Krishnakant		(as Krisnkant)
Aditya Srivastava
Ken Philip		(as Ken Phillip)
Sanjay Mishra
Mita Vasisht	...	Mita (female terrorist) (as Mita Vashisht)
Arundhati Rao		(as Arundathi Rao)
Malaika Arora	...	Dancer on train
Gautam Bora
Manjit Bawa		(as Manjith Bawa)

Also Known As:

From the Heart (USA)
Prema Tho (India: Telugu title) (dubbed version)
Uyire (India: Tamil title) (dubbed version)
De tout coeur (France) [fr]
Dil Se - Von ganzem Herzen (Germany) [de]
Dil se - fra hjertet (Denmark) (TV title) [da]
Vom Herzen... (Germany) [de]

Runtime:

USA:163 min | France:151 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | Assamese | Tamil | Telugu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby

Certification:

India:A

Filming Locations:

Assam, India

Company:

India Talkies

Trivia:

The film's first song, "Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya", is also the opening song of the Hollywood movie Inside Man (2006) starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen.

Quotes:

Amarkanth Varma: [feeling very hurt] Why did you lie to me that you were married?
Meghna: If I hadn't, would you have left me?
Amarkanth Varma: No, I wouldn't
Meghna: That's why
[walks away]
Amarkanth Varma: [frustrated] Listen, don't try to act innocent. I know you are not as innocent as you look
Amarkanth Varma: You have been giving me mixed signals. You think I will dance to your tunes all my life? But your game is exposed
Amarkanth Varma: [he grabs her] Stop!... You love to play with men's feelings, don't you? Know what we call girls like you? A tease.
Meghna: [haughtily looks at him] You really hate me, don't you?
Amarkanth Varma: Yes, with all my heart
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Larger Than Life (2003)

Soundtrack:

Dil Se Re

Unbelievable

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.