phir bhi Dil Hai Hindustani

This was the first movie produced by Shah Rukh Khan's newly formed production studio, Dreamz Unlimited, and it was a huge, disappointing, flop. I'd seen Dil Hai Hindustani about three months ago and I didn't remember it as horrible. Accordingly, I thought I'd watch it again this early evening for the second time.

Dil Hai Hindustani is a story about a conceited ace television reporter and his female competition. The film starts out with the theme song playing during the credits and the second song in is SRK singing "I'm the Best!" In Bollywood films, the songs are not always translated to English. This film does not provide sub-titles for the songs. So...I don't know what the lyrics are getting up to. All I know is the music is upbeat and catchy in this film. Upon hearing it the second time I remembered enjoying it the first time and I still found it memorable and engaging. That being said, I can imagine the audience being annoyed at Ajay's ( Shah Rukh Khan's) antics and conceit. He plays over the top for the first third of the film. My bet is that many viewers were lost at this point and simply stopped paying attention or tuned out or left.

It isn't until the second part of the film that Shah Ruhk Khan does what he does best; he plays the man with the heart of gold in a serious fashion. Ajay and Ria (Juhi Chawla) find themselves harboring a terrorist who is not really a terrorist. They record his story and drop their glamorous personas in solidarity with the human pathos of the story. Both Ajay and Ria work together to bring the truth out across a media that is increasingly controlled by the government, mafia, and commercial interests. In the end, Ajay, at great personal risk, rallies the people of India to march on the jail in an effort to stop the hanging of the supposed terrorist.

Some critics say it was a movie ahead of its time and that's why it didn't sell. I think the first half was too over-the-top and the second half was like Swades (which I really liked). Perhaps the disparate tones of the two parts of the movie was just too much for viewers to accept. Also, there was a kind of racist part when Ajay and Rai pretended to be Chinese reporters. The portrayal was very stereotypical and maybe not the most sensitive choice. However, I like it when SRK is exaggerating and I like it even better when he plays a serious part. So, for me, I liked this movie. I liked the music, the direction, the acting, the message, and the implicit social commentary. I also, surprisingly, like Johnny Lever's role in this film. He played the son of a Don and didn't camp it up too much. I thought his acting was restrained and appropriate. All in all, maybe this movie should be re-released to a broader audience, including America. American viewers can definitely relate.