Dil Se.. (1998)

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

Director:

Mani Ratnam

Writers:

Mani Ratnam (story and screenplay), Sujatha (dialogue)

Stars:

Shah Rukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, Preity Zinta

Top Rated Indian Movies #190 | 9 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shah Rukh Khan	...	Amarkanth Varma
Manisha Koirala	...	Meghna
Preity Zinta	...	Preeti Nair
Raghuvir Yadav	...	Shukla (as Raghuvir Yadhav)
Sabyasachi Chakrabarty
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)

Storyline

Amar Varma, a producer for Indian news radio, meets an enigmatic woman at a railroad station and then again at a hill station. He falls in love with her, but the woman, who calls herself Meghna, rejects and leaves him although she seems to be interested. Later, Varma agrees to marry his family's choice, Preeti. But suddenly Meghna is back, and what is the secret that she holds?

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Plot Keywords:

love | radio | train | interview | delhi | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi Tamil Telugu Assamese Urdu

Release Date:

21 August 1998 (India)

Also Known As:

De Coração

Filming Locations:

Assam, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

India Talkies, Madras Talkies

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dil Se Re song Bass Guitar was played by Guy Pratt - Pink Floyd Bass Guitarist - post Roger Waters era.

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Goofs

In the opening scene at the railway station where Shahrukh Khan is asking for matchstick from Manisha a sudden wind gush blow away her shawl completely out of her hands but in the next scene she is shown with the shawl in her hands wrapping around her body.

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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 ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Main, Meri Patni... Aur Woh! (2005)

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Soundtracks

Jiya Jale, Jaan Chale
Sung by Lata Mangeshkar, M. G. Sreekumar & Chorus
Composed by A.R. Rahman
Lyrics by Gulzar (as Sampooran Singh Gulzar)

User Reviews

Vastly underrated epic

Mani Ratnam's Dil Se is a classic example of casting gone wrong for a very good storyline. Well, at least, for the male lead. Such was the persona of Shah Rukh Khan as a romantic hero that it was improbable that the burning issue of North-East insurgence would salvage this wonderfully-crafted film from the fate it suffered.

On the whole, the film impresses, with its breath-taking visuals of Ladakh and the North-East, the mesmerizing music, and a fiery performance from Manisha Koirala. Granted that Priety Zinta was more of an ugly duckling than the elegant woman she is now, hers was a delightful debut. But the biggest disappointment is Shah Rukh. Tied to a role light years apart from the moon-gazing, mandolin-strumming Casanova that he was so accustomed to, he fails to bring the required wee-bit restraint to an investigating reporter. Perhaps, movies with hard-hitting realism were not his forte then.

Despite that, there are plenty of sequences worth remembering: the disturbing throwbacks into Meghna's (Manisha) past; the awkward interaction between Amar (Shah Rukh) and Preeti (Zinta) and that song on top of a train. I read somewhere that the songs were brilliant to listen to, but were inserted at the most inappropriate of moments in the film. I don't disagree. However, considering the length and the pace of the storyline, I wouldn't blame the editor and the director either. In any case, the songs are fabulous on their own and take the listener on a rich and vibrant journey of foot-tapping modernity and old world classicism. There is also a mournful melody rendered by the then-rejuvenated Sukhwinder Singh that somehow escaped a listing on the soundtrack. Maybe, you need to watch the movie to savor that.

It is definitely worth watching and more realistic than the fare dished out by Karan Johar and his ilk, but it is more an adventure of human motivations than a treatise on terrorism that the filmmakers would like us to believe. Pity, it suffered badly at the box-office.