On August 21st 1998, the Mani Ratnam movie 'Dil Se' starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala was first released in India. This very 'Poetic' romantic movie is based on the Arabic concept, which describes the timeless human of 'Love' in terms of '7 Shades' we see in a Rainbow. Furthermore, despite being over 20 years since this film was first released on the silver screen, it remains fresh and does not seem to have aged. Having watched it recently again (god knows how many times before), I realized that many factors caused 'Dil Se' to cast a magical spell on me every time I watch it. Here is presenting to you the reasons 'Why'I feel that this passionate Love Story is filled with pure cinematic magic.
Dil Se story based on the 'Unique' Arabic Concept of 7 Shades of Love:
According to Arabic culture, love has '7' shades that include Attraction, Infatuation, Love, Reverence, Worship, Obsession, and Death.
It is this idea that Ratnam has brilliantly used audio-visually to tell a love story of a man named Amarkant Verma (Shah Rukh Khan) and an 'Enigmatic' woman named Megha (Manisha Koirala). Through the journey of the protagonist's he wonderfully shows us how the timeless emotion of love does pass through the stages mentioned above.
More importantly, he superbly uses the volatile political background of 'Terrorism' in the North-East of India and brings to life on the silver screen a love story that starts with what proves to be 'Fatal Attraction' and therefore that eventually ends in 'Death'.
The narrative of this unique Bollywood Love Story Dil Se:
It is the story of this romantic Bollywood based on a man named Amar falling in love with Megha, a woman who is a member of a terrorist outfit in the northeast of India, that makes the movie fascinating to watch.
The fact that, even after Amar realizes that Megha is a terrorist indeed, he continues to love her and want her despite his personal and professional life being under threat is brilliantly shown in the movie.
In other words, how the '7' shades of love have been visually and through the use of brilliant dialogues highlighted via the turbulent Love Story of the two protagonist's is truly magnificent.
The brilliant 'Music' that reflected the 'Soul' of the Love Story in Dil Se:
'Spirituality' is what the music and background score of 'Dil Se' composed brilliantly by the 'Mozart of Madras' AR Rahman exuded. Some wonderful Urdu poetry also backed the songs written by the great Gulzar. However, what strikes out about the songs is the influence of 'Sufism' (i.e. a mystical and ascetic form of Islam practised by millions of Muslims worldwide).
In other words, the songs represent the immortal love between Amar and Megha as a blessing from the almighty. One song called Satrangi Re, sung brilliantly sung by Sonu Nigam and Kavita Krishnamoorthy through its lyrics, shows the timeless emotion of 'Love' having '7' shades.
The most famous song 'Chaiya Chaiya' sung passionately and superbly by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi takes you into the world of ecstasy that a man enters when he first sets eyes on a woman of his dreams.
On the other hand, the title song 'Dil Se' sung with burning passion by Rahman himself beautifully brings to life the feeling of falling head over heel in love for the first time in life.
While the poetic 'Ae Ajnabi' sung in a very romantic style by Udit Narayan and Mahalakshmi expresses wonderfully that melancholy of living apart from that special someone you love.
Overall, the music and background score provided by Rahman (one of the greatest Hindi film soundtrack) not only perfectly serves as the 'Soul' of this movie but is also regarded by many as one of the 'Best Bollywood Music' ever to be composed.
The Cinematography, direction, and performances that make Dil Se a romantic Bollywood movie to remember:
'Picturesque' is the word that best describes the cinematography of this movie done by Santosh Sivan. Shot on beautiful locations in India in states and territories such as Himachal Pradesh, Leh, Assam, New Delhi, and Kerala, the photography brilliantly captured the essence of troubled love. In other words, it is breathtaking visuals provided by a genius called 'Sivan' that make the story of lovers whose destiny is 'Death' 'Engaging' and at the same time 'Entertaining'.
Moreover, it is the captain of the ship and the story/screenplay writer often referred to as Mani 'Sir' who must get full credit for directing a Bollywood romantic masterpiece that remains with the viewer even after repeated watching. It is mainly because the director sets a 'Tragic' love story in a real volatile political setting. Ratnam uses the problem of terrorist insurgency in the North-East of India as background to audio-visually tells a passionate love story which makes the movie 'Educational' as well as 'Entertainment', which unfortunately few Bollywood romances do.
Above all, the performances extracted by the director from the cast is truly phenomenal. The 'Badshah' of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan is good if not great as All India Radio executive Amarkant Verma, a man 'Truly Madly Deeply' in love with a terrorist. Manisha Koirala as Megha, an enigmatic North-Eastern woman who is torn between her love for her cause and her man, is simply superb. Her eyes do speak more than a thousand words would. On the other hand, Preity Zinta delivers a good debut performance and makes her presence felt despite her being paired opposite stars.
The supporting cast comprising Raghubir Yadav, Mita Vasisht, Arundhati Rao, Zohra Sehgal, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Aditya Shrivastav, and Sanjay Mishra also deliver great performances to support the performances of the lead protagonists.
Overall, 'Dil Se' is a wonderful, unconventional Bollywood Romantic Movie that shows us 'Love is Sacrifice', which like 'Old Wine', only gets better the more you revisit to watch it.
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