Dil Se (1998, Mani Rathnam)
A retrospective review by David M. Arnold
"Dil Se" ("From the Heart") is a tragedy in the Greek sense of the term in which the protagonist is brought down by a character flaw. In this case, Amar Varma (Shah Rukh Kahn)'s flaw is that he permits his gonads overrule his common sense. Amar is a radio journalist who has a chance meeting with a young woman, after which his common sense is not only vetoed, it doesn't even get a chance at the podium. He follows this woman to the ends of the Earth (actually, to Ladakh, which is pretty close to the end) in an effort to fling woo at her. The woman, Meghna (Manisha Koirala) seems to have some Deep Dark Secret that holds her back from falling for the guy. Amar persists despite warning signs that would scare off a more prudent man (like being beaten to within an inch of his life by some of her acquaintances). Meghna gives Amar the slip, and we learn right before Intermission that she is a member of a terrorist cell.
Amar goes back to his job at All-India Radio, and to get married to Preeti (Preity Zinta) in a family-arranged meeting. Preeti is attractive and outgoing to the point of annoyance, and not a little self-centered. Yet, Amar convinces himself that she would make an adequate wife, although he will never forget Meghna. Then, on the eve of the engagement party Meghna shows up looking for shelter and work. Amar provides her both, and begins an edgy menage-a-trois. Slowly it sinks through his thick skull that Meghna is in the middle of something awful. Common sense would dictate that Amar take what he knows to the authorities, but he believes that he can save her, that through the power of love he can heal her wounds and turn her back onto the right path.
If this were an American movie, Amar might have saved her. And he also might have located the jilted Preeti's ex-lover so that everyone could have lived Happily Ever After. One of the things that I am beginning to admire about Indian cinema is the fact that it doesn't play by the American rules, even though in this case I found myself hoping that it would.
"Dil Se" worked for me, but not quite on the same visceral, emotional level as "Henna" (1991). I particularly enjoyed the craftsmanship of director Mani Rathnam. There is a scene in which Amar is interviewing Meghna for an internship at the radio station. They are standing in a back hallway trying to have a private conversation, but Amar's coworkers keep coming through. Every time the hall door opens and shuts the lighting changes from daylight to a deep blue artificial light. The effect is distracting, even annoying, but right on. I think we've all experienced trying to be discreet when the whole world won't cooperate.
The location photography in Kashmir-Jammu is spectacular, and the backstory about terrorists ("revolutionaries" they prefer to consider themselves) is fascinating. Rathnam seems to go for stories that put a political backdrop behind portrayals of human relationships. The film shows the terrorists and their motives in what looks to me, an outsider, as a quite well balanced and not unsympathetic light. And, the portrayal of day-to-day Indian life and culture is always fascinating to me. His treatment of Amar's loving if cloying extended family is quite poignant, especially as they get sucked into the maelstrom.
Shah Rukh Kahn is Bollywood's Hot Property these days. He's an unlikely leading man. "Goofy looking" is the film's official website's appraisal of him. His film persona seems to be an odd mix of Hugh Grant-style awkwardness and over-the-top egomania. Nepalese native Manisha Koirala projects a wounded beauty as the enigmatic, conflicted, haunted young woman at the center of so much trouble.
I've heard affectionados express that the music is the soul of a Hindi movie. I enjoy Indian music, although my tastes run more towards the classic ragas rather than the fusion Indopop film music. It's a little difficult for me to really get into the songs in "Dil Se". Perhaps it would help if the songs were subtitled along with the rest of the dialogue. I did enjoy the sheer production values of the songs, though, in particular the number done atop the train. Some Hindi films have plotlines that accommodate the songs seamlessly. "Dil Se" is not such a film, and the songs seem to be punctuation marks in the story line, representations of the characters hopes and fantasies.
"Dil Se" runs 163 minutes. Most Hindi films are long and to American eyes could benefit from tighter cutting. However, the length allows the story to unfold like a lotus blossom, and allows the film to explore some sights and sounds that a faster pace would prohibit.
"Dil Se" is available on NTSC-standard region 0 DVD from DEI. The video quality is good to very good. The 1.85:1 transfer is a little dark and not as crisp as some of DEI's other offerings. The audio quality is very good sounding stereo that's a little on the hot and wet side; although the disc claims to be multi channel, I could detect very little front-to-back imaging. Good sounding audio dramatically improves one's enjoyment of the musical numbers. Some older Indian films have audio that's so overcranked and distorted that the musical numbers are painful. The disc is in Hindi with optional English subtitles.
Essay copyright (C) 2000 David M. Arnold. All rights reserved.
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