Dil Se (1998)

73% of users liked it
(7,352 ratings)

Mani Rathnam, who has proven with films like Bombay (1995) and Iruvar (1998) that it was possible in India to make quality films that could also be box-office hits, chose the 50th anniversary celebrations of Indian Independence as the backdrop for this film about the clash between love and ideology.… More Mani Rathnam, who has proven with films like Bombay (1995) and Iruvar (1998) that it was possible in India to make quality films that could also be box-office hits, chose the 50th anniversary celebrations of Indian Independence as the backdrop for this film about the clash between love and ideology. Amar Kant Varma is the son of a deceased army officer and he lives with his family in Delhi. As a program executive for All India Radio, he travels all over the country to interview common people to mark the anniversary. On one of these trips, he meets a mysterious girl named Meghna at a train station, but loses sight of her before he can get to know her. He sees her again in another town and reminds her of their meeting. Meghna doesn't seem to recognize him. Although she doesn't really want him, he follows her all the way to Ladakh. After two days together, she leaves him to join a group of insurgents on a mission. Amar is heart-broken and marries a girl of his mother's choice. In the meantime, Meghna is chosen to be the main person on a suicide mission targeting the Republic Day Parade. She finds Amar and their destinies entwine. Director Ratnam uses the two characters as symbols for two distinct parts of India at odds with each other -- the big states on the one hand, and the border areas with minority populations on the other. The latter are angry at the central government for having neglected them, which have resulted in a recession. Dil Se, a good example of the energy and imagination of the "Bollywood" movies (referring to Bombay, the "Hollywood of India") from one of the masters of the genre was screened as part of the International Forum of Young Cinema at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 2 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Mani Ratnam
Genres: Drama, Musical & Performing Arts, Art House & International

In Theaters: Aug 21, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Feb 25, 2003
Studio: Venus

Critic Reviews

John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
stands out from the masses of pulp romances cranked out from Bollywood
Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com
The film is pretty atrocious, but the DVD is one of the worst I've ever seen.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Sajin P

Probably one of the career best performance from Srk . Neither him or the movie got the kind of recognition it deserved. Well that's Bollywood for you.
Elvira B

Mani Ratnam is endlessly creative and apparently knows no such thing as boredom or exhaustion. Dil Se's vitality endures successfully its exaggerated length, breathing through some of the lower points of the film. That's the highest praise I can give it. It's always on… More
Mani Ratnam is endlessly creative and apparently knows no such thing as boredom or exhaustion. Dil Se's vitality endures successfully its exaggerated length, breathing through some of the lower points of the film. That's the highest praise I can give it. It's always on the go, even during its most contemplative moments. Amar, a journalist, meets Meghna, a mysterious woman, on a train platform. Destiny keeps bringing them together and pushing them apart for a long time. Amar is constantly in passionate pursuit of Meghna, who is torn between her emotions and her secret terrorist mission. Dil Se allegedly attempts to exemplify the seven stages of love, which range from infatuation to death. I didn't quite get this while I watched, but afterwards, when I read it, it made sense, and it would be interesting to re-watch Dil Se with that in mind. So in few words, it's a story about love in many forms: gooey, melodramatic love, passionate love, sensual love, obssessive love, sublime love... the film's tone, its overall mood, changes in accordance to each of these faces of love and, therefore, it may seem inconsistent and a little flaky... It's a film likely to be misunderstood. In truth, I find it a very ambitious project, and Ratnam executes it with creativity and conviction. This was the first truly Bollywood product I ever saw. After some research I've discovered Shahrukh Khan has appeared in -many, of course- incredibly diverse films playing incredibly diverse characters. Here in Dil Se he is a captivating, tireless screen presence, while managing to play a man <i>humbled</i> by a love too strong and invasive for him to understand. Amar's dynamic personality is dominated and squashed by his love for Meghna. Manisha Koirala's performance is good but perhaps it could've been much more complex; her character Meghna was a challenge. I also believe this is Preity Zinta's debut, and she is nothing less than adorable in it. Objections against Dil Se... the story is so unlikely. These things here could hardly happen in real life. Amar and Meghna face some really unbelievable situations and have unbelievably mindless attitudes towards life and love. Amar risks his life countless times for a woman whose love he has no real proof of... he abandons everything and everyone to pursue her... and meanwhile we're watching and we're kind of laughing at him. It's important to understand Dil Se is not a human drama in the strict sense of the word, it's very fairy-tale like, it can almost be called a fable. One could say it takes a lot of reading and reflecting <i>before</i> watching Dil Se to really understand it... sadly, that is true. It's most certainly a very peculiar movie. Unless there's a lot of interest invested on it, it's difficult to entirely take it in. Last and not least, there's A.R. Rahman's awe-inspiring score and the visually stunning interludes that accompany most of the songs. There's terrific singing from Sukhwinder Singh (Chaiyya Chaiyya and the train scene that I never tire of watching), Lata Mangeshkar, even Rahman himself, etc. The composer immediately elevates the entire movie with a collection of pop hits... the good kind... Maybe I'm just a child who's discovering Bollywood, but to me Dil Se is a perfect example of love for cinema. It is quite long, but it took me much of that duration to really notice and say... what time is it?! Watch it :) I realize this is just about the highest rating this film has got on flixster!
Leo L

An interesting movie with a fairly well story plot. Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta stars.