Revisiting A Classic – Dil Se

Heavy raining. Too cold. Amar runs to the station with the tea only to see the mysterious girl moving away by train.

‘This must be the shortest love story in the world’

It is not. ‘Dil Se’ directed by the master-story-teller Maniratnam, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala had a backdrop of terrorism and it is a beautifully painted love story. This painting gives you all sorts of feels, from elated happiness to utter heartbreak.

E ajnabi tu bhi kabhi aawaaz de kahin se
Main yahan tukdon mein ji raha hoon
Main yahan tukdon mein ji raha hoon
Tu kahin tukdon mein Ji rahi hai

‘Dil Se’ completed the trilogy of Mani Ratnam’s terror-drama (Roja, and Bombay). Dil Se apart from winning two National Film Awards, and six Filmfare Awards, the film won the Netpac Award at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival. It was also screened at the Era New Horizons Film Festival and the Helsinki International Film Festival. There really are no words to describe how this movie makes you feel, but one thing is for sure… It will make you feel.

‘What do you know about me?’
‘Nothing. Only that I love from the heart!’

Dil toh aakhir dil hai na
Mithee see mushkil hai na, piya piya
Piya piya piya na piya jiya jiya jiya na jiya
Dil se re.

The song. A bomb explodes in the background.

Dil Se: A Cinematic Exploration of the 7 Shades of Love

It does not matter whether you love romantic movies or hate them, this is not just a romantic movie it is so more than that. ‘Dil Se’ is a journey through the 7 shades of love that are defined in ancient Arabic literature – attraction, infatuation, love, reverence, worship, obsession, and death. The character Amar (Shahrukh Khan) passes through each shade during the course of the film.

Dil ka saaya humsaaya satrangi re, manrangi re
Koi noor hai tu kyun door hai tu
Jab paas hai tu ehsaas hai tu
Koi khwab hai ya parchhaai hai satrangi re, manrangi re

We see Meghna wearing seven costumes, different colors, which says something about 7 colors – black, white, red, yellow, green, blue, and purple, while we can see Amar only in black color throughout until the very end, where he wears white. The song mirrored the whole plot of the movie.

Intimate Dialogues: A Glimpse into the Captivating Conversations Between Amar and Meghna

‘I know we don’t have time so just suppose we get married. What do you think, will be happy together? Love and love only? Or will fight? Heads will break, hands will be fractured… like that. But let me tell you clearly, I wont make up with you. You will have to come and ask for forgiveness. You wont come? So I will have to come to you? Impossible. I wont come. But once we have children the fights will end.’

‘No. They will join the fighting too!’
‘Is it?’
The scene continues.
‘Hitting this way means you cannot live without me.’
‘Yes! That is true. I will die’
‘Is it?’

Every conversation between Amar and Meghna is greatly intriguing. What makes this pairing so romantic is how real it is. A perfect chemistry, in one of the most beautiful romances ever.

‘What is it that you like the most?’
‘Mother’s Palm. Pigeons in temple. Poetry.’
‘What is that you dislike the most?’
‘I don’t like you coming close. Your smile, your mischief, your inherent smartness and your alertness.’
‘Lie. You are actually jealous of me.’
‘Yes’

Dil Se: Unraveling the Depths of Love and Emotion

The best thing about this movie was the depth of the plot and the actors playing their characters so well.  It is one of the greatest love stories ever told. Look out this scene, unbelievable! The scene where Amar put headphones on Maghna’s ears and she listening to the recording of their earlier conversation (in the desert). Dil Se is a heartwarming movie that makes your insides go mushy with emotions! A movie filled with fabulous quotes.

‘Do you know what I like the most? Your eyes. When I look into them I cannot see anything. There is a lot hidden within you and I love that. And then I love this distance between us because it gives me an excuse to come to you’

‘I told you that I will never leave you’. The ending. ‘Say that you love me, just once.’ Amar just wanted to hear that from her and he never did. She did love him. She was just as much in love with him as he was with her.

Uyirai Veroadu Killi
Ennai Chentheeyil Thalli
Enge Senraayo Kalli
Oyum Jeevan Odum Munne Ododi Vaa