This article is about the Hindi film. For the US a cappella team, see
Berkeley Dil Se.
Dil Se (Hindi: दिल से, translation: From the Heart) is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Shahrukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, and Preity Zinta. Mani Ratnam also wrote the screenplay for the film. It was produced by Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma in conjunction with Shekar Kapur.
The film was shot in Kashmir, Assam, Delhi, Kerala and other parts of India and Bhutan over a period of 55 days. Its cinematography won a National Film Award for cinematographer Santosh Sivan. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. A. R. Rahman received a Filmfare Award for the music.
Dil Se was screened at the Era New Horizons Film Festival and the Helsinki International Film Festival. The film went on to win the Netpac Award for Special Mention at the Berlin International Film Festival, two National Film Awards, and six Filmfare Awards. Despite being a box office failure in India, the film was a success overseas, becoming the first Indian film to enter the top 10 in the United Kingdom box office charts.[2][3]
Plot
Amarkant "Amar" Varma (Shahrukh Khan), an All-India Radio journalist living in Delhi, India, is dispatched to the troubled North-Eastern region to report on attitudes relating to the 50th Anniversary of Indian independence. There, he interviews a terrorist leader on his group's motivation and ethics. He meets Meghna (Manisha Koirala) at a railway station and chats with her. But when he goes to get her a cup of tea, Meghna departs on a train with three men. Some weeks later he spots her in the street and accosts her but she resists and pretends not to recognise him. Amar comes near where she lives and tells her he loves her from the heart, "dil se." To stop him from following her, Meghna tells him that she is married. Amar feels embarrassed for flirting with a married woman, and sincerely wishes to apologize to her. He arranges a meeting with her to do so, but she brings two mysterious men with her, who subsequently take Amar away and beat him. This harsh experience invigorates Amar to find Meghna again. After finding out her plans to visit Ladakh, he follows her with the convenient excuse of reporting on the local festivities and she gives him the slip there too.
As Amar heads home, he finds her on the same bus. He starts flirting with her and mocking her for having her supposed husbands beat him up. Then the security guard asks Amar his business, and Amar tells him he's reporting in the festivals. The guard asks Meghna what her business is and she tells him she is with Amar. The bus breaks down and the passengers are forced to walk a two-day journey to their destination. Amar nearly loses Meghna again but catches up with her, angered about the fact she had used him, and accusing her of being a morally loose tease. She tells him her name and that the two men who beat him were her brothers. Amar tries to aggressively advance upon Meghna, which causes her a painful anxiety attack.
Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta during the song
Jiya Jale
During the pair's two day walk they have a whirlwind adventure through the desert. Though the two fall for each other, Meghna slips away and leaves Amar to return to the safety of Delhi alone. Upon is return, he finds that his family want him to meet Preeti Nair (Preity Zinta), a potential bride. Amar and Preeti both agree to get married. Then Meghna shows up in Delhi and comes to Amar's house, on the day he is to be engaged to Preeti, and asks for a place to stay, which Amar and his family give her. It is revealed that she is a member of a terrorist group, who came to Delhi to kill the prime minister on the Republic Day parade. When Amar finds out about her plan, he takes her away and confronts her. They get into an argument resulting in Amar tugging on Meghna's clothes, suspecting her of carrying a weapon or wearing a bomb vest. He is taken by the police for molestation. However, other members of Meghna's terrorist group negotiate with the policeman to release Amar. They then take him and beat him up again, leaving him in an empty corner, bleeding and in pain. Amar hears a phone ring and picks it up and realises it is Meghna (who is trying to call one of them). On the phone he begs her to come to him while pretending that her friends are still beating him up. Meghna cuts off the phone and begins to cry and feel guilt for what she has done to Amar. Amar escapes and the next day finds Meghna (he had planned to stop her from carrying on with the terrorist attack). She clearly tells him to stay away from her. Amar begs and pleads, but when he embraces her she yells out because he might activate the bomb in her vest. He then whispers in her ear, "If you won't come with me, take me with you." After Amar's continued imploring and begging, Meghna's intense inner struggle subsides; she embraces Amar, detonating the bomb and killing them both.[4]
Awards
The film has won the following awards since its release:
1999 Berlin International Film Festival (Germany)
1999 National Film Awards (India)
1999 Filmfare Awards (India)
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features 5 songs composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics by Gulzar.
Hindi
Chaiyya Chaiyya has become one of the most popular songs in the recent years. It was featured as one of the top 10 songs of all-time, in an international poll conducted by BBC World Service.[5]
Tamil
References
External links
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