Dil Se

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This article is about the Hindi film. For the US a cappella team, see Berkeley Dil Se.
Dil Se

DVD cover
Directed by Mani Ratnam
Produced by Mani Ratnam
Ram Gopal Varma
Shekhar Kapur
Written by Mani Ratnam (story & screenplay)
Tigmanshu Dhulia (dialogue)
Sujatha (dialogue)
Starring Shahrukh Khan
Manisha Koirala
Preity Zinta
Music by A. R. Rahman
Distributed by Madras Talkies
Release date(s) August 21, 1998
Running time 163 min.
Language Hindi / Urdu
IMDb profile

Dil Se (Hindi: िदल से, Urdu: دل سے, translation: From the Heart) is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film was also released in Tamil as Uyire and Prema Tho in Telugu and stars Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, and Preity Zinta. Mani Ratnam also wrote the screenplay for the film. It was produced by Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma in conjunction with Shekar Kapur.

The film was shot in Kashmir, Assam, Delhi, Kerala and other parts of India and Bhutan over a period of 55 days. Its cinematography won a National Film Award for cinematographer Santosh Sivan. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. A. R. Rahman received a Filmfare Award for the music. The film became the first Indian film to reach the Top 10 in the UK Box Office Charts, when released in 1998.[1]

The film was screened at the ERA New Horizons Film Festival and the Helsinki International Film Festival.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Amarkant "Amar" Varma (Shahrukh Khan), an All-India Radio journalist living in Delhi, India, is dispatched to the troubled North-Eastern region to report on attitudes relating to the 50th Anniversary of Indian independence. He meets Meghna (Manisha Koirala) at a railway station and chats with her. But when he goes to get her a cup of tea Meghna's train departs, leaving Amar behind. Some weeks later he spots her in the street and accosts her but she resists and pretends not to recognise him; but Amar is highly attracted by her beauty and mysteriousness and continues to pursue her. After finding out her plans to visit Ladakh, he follows her with the convenient excuse of reporting on the local festivities and she gives him the slip there too, but not before two thugs who appear to know Meghna violently assault him to warn him off. Chastened by the beating, Amar heads home and coincidentally finds her on the same bus and good-humouredly describes his beating. Then the security guard asks Amar his business, and Amar tells him he's reporting in the festivals. Then the guard asks Meghna what her business is and she tells him she is with Amar. The bus breaks down and the passengers are forced to walk a two-day journey to their destination. Amar nearly loses Meghna again but catches up with her angered about the fact she had used him (first she has him beaten up by two men who Amar thought were her husbands and then she has the nerve to lie that Amar is her husband). She tells him her name and that the two men who beat him were her brothers.

Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta during the song Jiya Jale
Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta during the song Jiya Jale

After two days, Amar finds he has been ditched by Meghna and returns to the safety of Delhi and finds his family have arranged a marriage with him to Preeti (Preity Zinta). Then Meghna shows up in Delhi and comes to Amar's house (on the day he is to be engaged to Preeti) and asks for a place to stay- which Amar and his family give her. She is actually a terrorist who came to Dehli to kill the prime minister on the independence day parade. When Amar finds out about her plan, he takes her away from the parade and confronts her and is taken by the police (as they think he is assaulting her). However, the police find he is innocent and he is let go but then Meghna's brothers take him into an empty corner and beat him up again. The next day Amar finds Meghna and she clearly tells him to stay away from her but never the less (when she walks past him), he grabs her by the hand and begs her to come with him. Then he pulls her into his arms and she screams, "Don't touch me!" He then whispers in her ear, "If you won't come with me, take me with you" (which causes her to cry a little). After about three times of Amar repeating the line "take me with you", Meghna turns around to face him and he again begs her to take him with her and to say she loves him (while he places her hand onto his face). She goes into his arms and hugs him and they are both killed when Amar detonates a bomb concealed in Meghna's clothing.

It is noticed that the seven stages of love described in the song "Satrangi Re" are depicted throughout the movie. These stages are Hub, Uns, Ishq, Aquidat, Ibaadat, Junoon, and Maut (attraction, infatuation, love, reverence, worship, obsession, and death).[2]

[edit] Reception

Dil Se was met with a mixed critical response upon release. The film was a box office flop in India but was the first Bollywood film to enter the top 10 in the United Kingdom.[3] Though, it was criticised for its highly-unorthodox denouement, it has also won staunch fans for this and its nonstandard features. In recent years, after being screened in many international film festivals, it has drawn more praise, with some critics reevaluating their more critical opinion.[citation needed]

[edit] Awards

The film has won the following awards since its release:

1999 Berlin International Film Festival (Germany)

1999 National Film Awards (India)

  • Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Cinematography - Santosh Sivan
  • Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Audiography - H. Sridhar

1999 Filmfare Awards (India)

[edit] Soundtrack

Dil Se:
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Dil Se:The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack cover
Studio album by A. R. Rahman
Released 1998
Genre Soundtrack
Label Venus
Producer A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology
Jeans
(1998)		 Dil Se: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
(1998)		 Earth
(1998)

The soundtrack features 5 songs composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Gulzar.

Track listing
  1. "Chaiyya Chaiyya" (6:52) – Sukhwinder Singh, Sapna Awasti
  2. "Jiya Jale" (4:12) – Lata Mangeshkar, M.G. Sreekumar
  3. "Dil Se Re" (6:54) – A. R. Rahman, Anuradha, Anupama
  4. "E Ajnabi" (5:32) – Udit Narayan, Mahalakshmi
  5. "Thayya Thayya" (4:37) – Sukhwinder Singh
  6. "Satrangi Re" (7:12) – Sonu Nigam

Chaiyya Chaiyya has become one of the most popular Bollywood tracks in the last ten years. It has been featured in the soundtrack of hollywood movie Inside Man as well as being one of the songs in the hit stage musical Bombay Dreams

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cary Rajinder Sawhney (2006). Dil Se... British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2007-03-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  2. ^ 7 Shades of Love from Dil Se. rage-india.com. Archived from the original on 2001-07-09. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  3. ^ Aftab, Kaleem (October 2002). "Brown: the new black! Bollywood in Britain". Critical Quarterly 44 (3): 88-98. Blackwell Synergy. doi:10.1111/1467-8705.00435. “The first Bollywood film to enter the UK top 10, Dil Se was nevertheless a flop in India. Such factors attest to the crucial role of the NRI audience in the commercial fate of Bollywood produce.” 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Mani Ratnam
Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983) • Unaru (1985) • Pagal Nilavu (1985) • Idaya Kovil (1985) • Mouna Raagam (1986) • Nayagan (1987) • Agni Natchathiram (1988) • Geethanjali (1989) • Anjali (1990) • Thalapathi (1991) • Roja (1992) • Thiruda Thiruda (1993) • Bombay (1995) • Iruvar (1997) • Dil Se (1998) • Alaipayuthey (2000) • Kannathil Muthamittal (2002) • Aayitha Ezhuthu (2004) • Yuva (2004) • Guru (2007)
v • d • e
Ram Gopal Varma
Directed films
Shiva  (1989) • Kshana Kshanam  (1991) • Raat  (1992) • Antam  (1992) • Drohi  (1992) • Gaayam  (1993) • Govindha Govindha  (1993) • Rangeela  (1995) • Great Robbery  (1996) • Anaganaga Oka Roju  (1996) • Deyyam  (1997) • Daud: Fun on the Run  (1997) • Satya  (1998) • Prema Katha  (1999) • Kaun  (1999) • Mast  (1999) • Jungle  (2000) • Company  (2002) • Bhoot  (2003) • Naach  (2004) • Sarkar  (2005) • Shiva  (2006) • Darna Zaroori Hai (Story 2)  (2006) • Nishabd  (2007) • Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag  (2007) • Darling  (2007) • Sarkar Raj  (2008)
Productions
Money  (1993) • Money Money  (1994) • Gulabi  (1996) • W/O V.Varaprasad  (1998) • Dil Se  (1998) • Shool  (1999) • Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya  (2001) • Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega  (2001) • Road  (2002) • Darna Mana Hai  (2003) • Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon  (2003) • Ek Hasina Thi  (2004) • Ab Tak Chhappan  (2004) • Gayab  (2004) • Vaastu Shastra  (2004) • D  (2005) • Mr Ya Miss  (2005) • Shabri  (2005) • Shock  (2006) • Darna Zaroori Hai  (2006) • Darwaaza Bandh Rakho  (2006) • Go (2007) • Zabardast  (2007) • Leelai  (2007)
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