Dil Se (1998)

Dil Se is one of my very favorite Shah Rukh Khan films. I say this for several reasons. It's up there with Veer Zaara, Devdas, and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Though it did not do well in the Indian market upon first release ( I wonder why?), it did well in the European market and went on to gather several awards.

Briefly, it's the story of a Radio India reporter, Amar (Shah Rukh Khan), who falls in love with a mysterious girl/woman, Meghna (Nanisha Roirala), whom he meets at a train station. They cross in the night, he continues on to a meeting in Kashmir to interview terrorists for the radio station and then proceeds to look for his love. He encounters her several times with less than satisfying consequences. Eventually, he gives it up and agrees to contract a marriage with a family acquaintance, Preeti (Preity Zinta). Meghna seeks him out and begs to live in his family complex and asks Amar to get her a job at Radio India. Amar, still in love, in spite of his imminent marriage to Preeti, agrees. Too soon, he finds out Meghna is a terrorist and involves himself in attempting to stop the terrorist plot.

This all sounds basic; however, this film has several outstanding features. First, after meeting Meghna at the train station and losing her, Amar has a song and dance routine on a moving train. That's right. Shah Rukh dances fearlessly, seemingly, on the roof of a moving train for many miles. It is awesome choreography, music, and cinematography. It's a famous scene that is mentioned in Bollywood lore as a first and as an accolade for SRK. Next, while oftentimes the lyrics of Bollywood song and dance are not translated into English, the music in Dil Se is translated (Moserbaer version). The poetry is beautiful. Is this a ghazal? I think so - must be, it is so insinuating, lingering, compelling, soulful. The script of this movie is just great. Amar follows Meghna onto a bus going to the hinterlands. The bus breaks down and they travel together. In an intimate scene, after Amar has asked Maghna what she likes and what she doesn't like, she returns the favor and asks him the same question. Amar's response is inspired and to die for - unforgettable. (Men, take note.) Shah Rukh Khan's acting is faultless. He allows himself to be human, to appear with faults, to be absolutely and poignantly human. He is not the big hero in this, and yet he is. The ending is moving, horrible, brave, inevitable, (words fail me, but more remains to be said.) The scenery is stark and beautiful. This movie is memorable and worth seeing more than once.