PHIR BHI DIL HAI HINDUSTANI (2000)

Although it was only an average box-office hit, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani has many special and appealing features, as well as the opportunity for Shahrukh to engage in yet another interesting role, this time as the somewhat irritating and obnoxiously arrogant TV reporter, Ajay Bakshi. 

This movie won an International Indian Film Academy award for Technical Excellence in 2001 for best visual special effects, namely the stunning scene in which Shahrukh jumps from a tall building just as a bomb explodes on the top floor.  These thrilling scenes in the first few minutes of the film set the pace for this exciting story which combines elements of action, romance, comedy, crime, political intrigue and above all, the fight for justice. 

Teaming up yet again with his very talented co-star, Juhi Chawla, Shahrukh’s character is like a whirlwind that attracts all the trouble, action and fun in this story.   As the egocentric TV personality whose motto is “I am the best”, Shahrukh makes the character credible and even likeable, especially as the story unfolds and presents Ajay Bakshi with a serious situation which brings out deeper qualities and emotions in him. 

Finding a stimulating new challenge in Juhi Chawla’s character, Ria Banerjee, who becomes the main presenter for the rival news broadcaster, Ajay is first distracted by feeding his ego with a flashy new sports car and the attention of many beautiful girls, which leads to some clever comical situations. 

But when a politician is assassinated during a public speech and the offender labelled an international terrorist, both Ajay and Ria are drawn into the events they are reporting and find themselves united against political corruption.  In turn, this leads to their determination to reveal the truth and bring justice to the man falsely accused of being the terrorist, and in the process they fall in love with each other.

This excellent story is skillfully presented by Aziz Mizra, whom Juhi Chawla describes as a very warm and sensitive director, and who has the knack of adding special little moments at the right time to delight the viewer.   No wonder, then, that Aziz Mizra made such a success of Chalte Chalte a few years later in which he directed Shahrukh and Rani Mukherjee in quite an emotionally complex and sensitive portrayal of a struggling marriage. 

Besides a fine story beautifully directed, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani happens to be the first movie Shahrukh produced, along with co-producers Juhi Chawla and director, Aziz Mizra.  Working with them are other great talents of the Indian film industry such as the highly-praised choreographer Farah Khan, who makes Javed Akhtar’s lyrics stand out even more with exciting, funny and perfectly executed song and dance moves such as I Am the Best and Tu Yaar Tu Hi Dildaar, the latter being Shahrukh’s favourite song in the movie because of its beautiful setting.

Along with some funny songs and a little romance, there are also some scenes of hard reality, such as riots on city streets which is even part of a song, Vande Mataram, and the very disturbing story of the tragic death of a young woman which is at the centre of the political assassination and the reporters’ united effort to expose this truth and bring about justice.  This in turn leads to public awareness of national pride and the people’s stand against corrupt politicians. 

Contrasting the intensity and seriousness of these aspects of Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani are the pure comical scenes featuring Johnny Lever, who was nominated several times for Best Comedian in this film.  He plays the bungling son of a deceased gangster boss whose efforts to prove himself worthy of being a don get him involved with Ajay and Ria. 

But many other comedy scenes are also brilliantly executed by both Shahrukh and Juhi Chawla, and a particularly impressive scene involves them disguised as Chinese and speaking with a Chinese accent in order to fool the gangsters.   Indeed, with such a variety of moods and scenes so smoothly put together by Aziz Mizra, both stars are given a chance to really shine and demonstrate their range of acting skills, from serious drama and action to bizarre comedy.

In a short interview about Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Shahrukh says with dry wit that he has nothing in common with the Ajay Bakshi character except that he also thinks he is the best!  And no doubt it is also Shahrukh’s natural charisma and sense of humour which make the Ajay character so real and likeable, and in turn make this entire movie immensely entertaining.

by Barbara Burkowsky

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