Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (Devanagari: फिर भी दिल है हिंदुस्तानी, "But the heart is still Indian") is a Bollywood film released by Dreamz Unlimited on 21 January 2000. The film was directed by Aziz Mirza and stars Shahrukh Khan as Ajay Bakshi, a confident, loudmouth TV reporter, and Juhi Chawla as Ria Banerjee, Ajay's rival reporter.

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani focuses on the media war being fought in the TV newsrooms.

The film had mixed reviews from critics and audiences but was proven to be an average film, even though it was a high-profile film by director Aziz Mirza, it could not emulate the successes his previous films Yes Boss and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman had. The film only managed to pick up one award - in 2001, the Award for Technical Excellence from Awards of the International Indian Film Academy.

Summary

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, focuses on the media war being fought in the TV newsrooms. Ajay Bakshi (Shahrukh Khan) & Ria Banerjee (Juhi Chawla) are arch rivals & TV reporters for rival news channels. Their rivalry gives way to chivalry & ultimately attraction.

When a staged assassination attempt on a minister's brother turns real, Ajay & Ria are thrown on same side of a war that is about to start. Mohan Joshi (Paresh Rawal), the assassin, says nothing about his motives. The commissioner gives false reports to the media that Joshi is in league with terrorists, who attempt to destabilize the country. Mohan escapes from the jail & runs into Ajay & Ria. The story he tells them shocks the duo to the core.

The duo decide to give preference to the truth over TRP. Unfortunately they have to fight their own bosses along with the wrongdoers to give Mohan the justice.

Plot

Ajay Bakshi (Shahrukh Khan) is an arrogant but successful reporter working for a reputed news channel. His father was a freedom fighter living on a measly pension. Ajay thinks that his fathers ideal & sacrifices have given him nothing. He has no respect for his father's ideals, which his father still sticks to. The rival news channel ropes in Ria Banerjee (Juhi Chawla) as his answer. Ria is antithesis of Ajay & uses her charm to get her work done.

Pappu Junior (Johnny Lever) is a don who is soon to be ousted from his own gang, owing to his inability to make it big in the crime world. Ajay approaches Choti with an offer: arrange a fake attack on a minister's (Shakti Kapoor) brother on national TV. Choti will earn respect & Ajay's channel will gain TRP. Little does Ajay know that the plan is going to turn too real.

The minister's brother is gunned down by an assailant named Mohan Joshi (Paresh Rawal). When Ajay learns that he was not Choti's man, he panics. Ria learns about Ajay & Choti's deal, but they decide to help each other nevertheless. Mohan is arrested, but does not open his mouth even once during police torture. To avoid any public unrest, the ACP (Anjan Srivastav) declares that Mohan is a terrorist working for unknown terror organizations. Meanwhile, Mohan somehow escapes out of jail.

Ajay & Ria are fighting over the matter in their car, unaware that Mohan is hiding in the same car. Mohan accosts them, where Ajay accuses him of being a terrorist. Mohan has an angry outburst & tells him that he is not a terrorist. Mohan goes on to narrate his story. Mohan has an ailing wife (Nina Kulkarni) & a now-dead daughter. Mohan says that his daughter went to an interview for a secretarial job at the victim's office, where the latter raped her. She committed suicide & Mohan was left running from door to door for justice. Hence, he took the law into his own hands.

Ajay & Ria are shaken by his confession & decide to help Mohan. Ajay hands over the video tape of this confession to his boss (Satish Shah). Unfortunately, the minister has joined hands with his opposition rival (Govind Namdeo) as he fears that their secrets might come out if Mohan surrenders. Similarly, Ajay's boss forms an alliance with Ria's boss (Dalip Tahil) after knowing about the tape. The ministers & channel heads come together and trick Ajay & Ria to give the tape to them.

Only after they give the tape do they realize what the truth is. Ajay is angry at first, but comes up with a plan to retrieve the tape back from the villains. With the help of Ria & Choti, he succeeds in obtaining the tape. Here Mohan has been arrested by police & is sent to be publicly hanged. Ajay succeeds in broadcasting Mohan's confession just an hour before the execution & asks the public to stop this injustice.

The ministers try to stop the protesters from coming to the execution ground by making the police barricade the entrance. The ACP decides to join Ajay & Ria, thus neutralizing the police barricades. In a blatant mockery of media's TRP hogger attitude, Mohan is made to wear a T-shirt containing logos of various companies & is prepared for execution. Just seconds before the execution, Ajay & the protesters succeed in saving Mohan.

Mohan's execution is called off. Ajay's father tells him that his ideals may not have given him money, but they gave him something far more important - Ajay. Ajay proposes to Ria in front of all the protesters; Ria accepts after playful banter with him.

Cast

• Shahrukh Khan as Ajay Bakhshi
• Juhi Chawla as Ria Banerjee
• Paresh Rawal as Mohan Joshi
• Johnny Lever as Choti/Pappu Junior
• Chariems Josh as Friend of Ajay "Shahid"
• Sanjay Mishra as Bomb Defuser
• Sharat Saxena

Music

Music from this movie was much apprecited by audiences rather than movie itself.

Manish Dhamija of Planet Bollywood gave 8.5 stars stating, "Overall, the album is a pleasant surprise from Jatin-Lalit". ^[1]

See also

• Mera Joota Hai Japani

References

External links

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani at the Internet Movie Database