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SPOILER WARNING (includes huge plot issues, including ending)
As I walked toward the cinema hall, I passed by moviegoers emerging from the last screening of Mani Ratnam's DIL SE.. A very disgruntled lot, a woman was shaking her head, calling it "complete garbage", and a whole lot of "Yeh picture neh challegi" .This worried me; indeed, I had been awaiting the director's latest film for a variety of different reasons. Firstly, after viewing his BOMBAY, I was convinced that he was the best working filmmaker in India. Secondly, it was his first collaboration with Shahrukh Khan, and his second with Manisha Koirala. Finally, the music was already causing a storm by then, although it took me a long time to fully appreciate A.R. Rahman's experiment (more on that later).
DIL SE.. was admittedly somewhat of a disaster in India (I think it only made about six crores), while it apparently did much better overseas. I was disappointed by its failure, but I can't say I was surprised much either. The film was completely bleak and depressing, with a love story that was quite unrelatable to moviegoers. While critics acknowledged there was nothing wrong with the acting and look of the film, the screenplay was a total mess. Ratnam was juggling too many issues to really focus and tighten his picture. Moving from location to location, there was apparently little linearity, and the theme was muddled (A love story? Terrorism issues?).
It is no secret that DIL SE.. is not a perfect film (hmmm, there's a mouthful). The screenplay did attempt to address too much I suppose, and some ideas went nowhere. Especially in the second half of the film, the subplot of the police investigator following the band of terrorists is supposed to add tension, but fails to do so. What is the purpose of Meghna's friend (some sources indicate many scenes including the actress were cut)? But it is also successful in spite, and also because of its flaws; the mistakes are fascinating to me. I'd much rather see a film that is grappling with such difficult issues than a cookie cutter type film about romance. Ratnam succeeds more often than he fails, but when he does, it's spectacular and beautiful to watch.
One thing I can say about DIL SE.. without reservation is that I was completely surprised by every twist in the film. I had no idea where it was going, and had no idea how they were going to wrap things up. The lovers' conflict was anything but conventional, and every sequence of the film was so rich in every element. The ending perhaps has received the most controversy of all parts in the movie, and for good reason. The first time I saw the film, my jaw dropped open and I felt as if the wind was knocked out of me. The credits had finished rolling, and I was still sitting there, gaping like a fish, not knowing what I had just saw. I didn't know what to feel - used? manipulated? angry?
The biggest argument against the film's finale would be that it was a huge ripoff, a cheap way to tie up the loose ends of the film. This was an easy route to solve all the problems and ignore any subplots. And that argument has a lot of validity, even I can see why Ratnam wrapped it up this way - because there really was no other way to go! However, I came to understand why this ending was important and a very satisfying (although very depressing) conclusion to the story. I realize now, all these years later, how furious I would have been if Meghna had given her hand in his and said, "Let's go away together someplace." To me, THAT would have been the biggest ripoff, ending the film on a note that would betray everything that preceded. It has taken some time, but I've grown to love the ending - can't see it any other way. I believe it holds much more meaning than simply shock value.
Another fantastic element of the picture is the acting by the two leads. Shahrukh Khan gives his best performance ever, and I doubt he will ever top this. He brings so many shades to this flawed character, and successfully is able to convey his consuming lust and destructive nature. He still suffers from his, what I like to call "Shahrukhisms"; his stuttering and special quirks that are special to his style. But make no mistake, this is undoubtedly his most bold and interesting work thus far. Manisha Koirala on the other hand gives a flawless performance. I know there have been criticisms over her characterization, but she has a tough job here, and pulls it off admirably. She expertly transmits her feelings of doubt and how she is torn between her duty and possible love for this man - work worthy of an Oscar. Preity Zinta, in her debut, gives a very natural performance, but her scope is limited and shadowed by the other two.
Finally, perhaps what really elevates the movie to an even higher level is the musical score by A.R. Rahman. By that, I mean both the soundtrack and the music underlying the film. His score shifts from haunting to heart-wrenching, and often just hearing pieces here and there make me shiver. The soundtrack is even better, a flawless piece of work. Nothing has topped this, not "Taal", not "Devdas". There are only six songs (five, if you don't count "Thaiyya Thaiyya" as completely original), but they are brilliant in their composition. Say what you will about the movie, but the soundtrack is up there in the big leagues.
Released in the summer of 1998, DIL SE.. lost even more status when the vapid KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI broke records and won awards from every circuit of the industry. Personally, I hate KKHH with a passion, not because won every award undeservingly, but because its whole premise is based on shameless manipulation. Watching it, I felt like the film was telling me that I had no soul if I wasn't sobbing like a girl every few seconds when the "mother" was mentioned. People have become violently angry with me, saying that if I didn't find the movie touching, I lacked the qualities of a human... Right. Don't even get me started on that disgusting "Ma" scene. But I'm off topic - suffice it to say that DIL SE.. deserved top honours at the awards that year. It won six Filmfare Awards, but certainly deserved more. And I would have a lot more respect for Shahrukh's award if it had been for this film, not Karan Johar's farce.
DIL SE.. remains today a film that everyone is afraid to talk about. Even Shankar (director of NAYAK) said in an interview that he loved DIL SE.., even though he felt ashamed to say it. No, the film is not a perfect piece like I said before. But it attempts and covers so much about lust, commitment and repression that other films can't even scratch the surface on. It both succeeds and fails spectacularly, and that what makes it so brilliant. I love this film, and it has the same impact on me every time that I watch it. My feelings have remained the same ever since I was 13 when I first saw it. This is one of the best things to come out of the film industry. It's probably at the top of my list of the 1990's along with other greats like BOMBAY, 1942, and DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE.
Rating: ****/****
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.. Come on, Even Aamir divorced his wife for Priety 
