DIL SE (1998)

Dil Se is one of the more unusual and special films in which Shahrukh has played a leading role, and it stands out for various reasons, not in the least that it is the first Hindi-language film by highly-acclaimed Tamil director, Mani Ratnam, who adds his own unique touch to each of his films.  For Dil Se he even won a special Netpac Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, just as he has won other international awards for other films.

Yet Dil Se is probably best remembered for the very popular hit song Chaiyya Chaiyya featuring Shahrukh and many others dancing on a moving steam train travelling through picturesque landscapes.  In fact, this one particular song attracted three of the six Filmfare awards Dil Se won in 1999, namely Best Choreography, Best Lyricist and Best Playback Singer.

But this extraordinary film has many other exciting features which immediately strike the viewer, such as the stunning scenery captured so superbly in almost every scene, including innovative camera angles and lighting, so that it comes as no surprise that Dil Se also won a Filmfare award for Best Cinematography. 

Filmed mostly in some of the more remote areas of northern India in the Himalaya region, Dil Se captures some of the raw and rugged beauty of this wilderness, both in the film itself and in another outstanding song, namely Satrangi Re, in which Shahrukh and his co-star execute some more fantastic Farah Khan choreography. 

Equally breathtaking and wonderful is the exotic tropical location for the song Jiya Jalay, with precise and elegant dancing action, all of which actually contrasts starkly to the actual theme and tone of the film.  Dil Se is certainly an intense love story, as the title meaning “from the heart” implies, but the circumstances and surroundings of this romance are very grave.

As a radio presenter, Shahrukh’s character, Aman, travels to the troubled regions in northern India where terrorists, revolutionists and other dangers lurk, and on the way falls in love with an unusual girl who fiercely rejects his advances.  The film sheds light on the plight of people living in such areas where the benefits of the Indian government have not yet reached, as well as some of the violence and atrocities committed in strife-torn regions and its long-term consequences on people’s lives.

These sad and true-to-life situations come to life in Dil Se through Mani Ratnam’s direction and the down-to-earth, realistic and natural acting style adopted for this film.  This presents Shahrukh with yet another opportunity to hone his acting talents, and there is certainly not a minute throughout the film that the audience doesn’t believe he isn’t really Aman, the Delhi-based radio reporter who finds himself in mortal danger because of his obsessive love for a girl.

When he decides to give up chasing the strange girl from the northern regions, Aman agrees to his family’s arrangements for marriage to another girl who is played by Preity Zinta, and whose role in Dil Se won her the Best Newcomer award.  She soon moved on to greater roles with Shahrukh in some of the biggest hits of recent yeas such as Veer-Zaara, Kal Ho Naa Ho and Kabhi Alvedi Naa Kehna.  But in Dil Se she and Shahrukh shared an opportunity to play quite different roles in a serious and meaningful film which may have more significance today for its terrorism theme than it did when it was released in 1998.

Shahrukh’s acting style in Dil Se is very different from many of his other well-known roles, but with the same underlying energetic passion and conviction he makes this character seem even more genuine to the viewer than many of his other roles.  There are some surprising and intense emotional scenes with Manisha Koirala, who is the object of Aman’s obsessive love, as well as very realistic, awkward conversation with Preity Zinta when they are first introduced. 

Perhaps most memorable, however, is the short scene of Aman live on air giving a very vivid account of his first meeting with the north Indian girl to his radio listeners, complete with self-made sound effects, which shows yet another facet of Shahrukh’s acting talents, namely the great range of his vocal skills. 

Despite its gloomy and thought-provoking theme and intense moods, Shahrukh’s performance still shines in many various ways throughout the film, and not in the least in his dancing in most of Dil Se’s songs, leaving a deep impression long after the film has ended.  

by Barbara Burkowsky

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