One of the most stylish and substantially crafted movies of last century. When some great names in the industry put up their efforts together, we got to see a profligately awesome cine experience. Moreover a movie "Dil Se" is a poem. Pure blend of music and romance which explains seven various phases of Love. Happened to see it again last night for "N"th time yet it had the freshness. Like previous times, I really relished each and every moment of the movie this time too. Everyone in this forum knows the wave created by "Dil Se" among Indian youths when it released in 1998.Now, Coming to the direction and another technical aspects of the movie. Manirathnam is so known for his technical brilliance and flabbergasting directional suaveness and yeah, he did not disappoint anyone. It was absolutely an enchanting experience for me to go through this wonderfully fabricated movie once again. Like his previous ventures "Roja" and "Bombay" this movie also depicts human relationships against a background of Indian politics and military. Dil Se was shot in Himachal, Kashmir, Assam, Delhi, Kerala, and other parts of India and Bhutan over a period of 55 days and its so much evident that how much strain he would have taken to encapsulate all the obligatory things to make his movie an emphatic one. For many this may not be the best of Manirathnam but it definitely owns an unique style and theme. Music department by Gulzar and ARR I think I don't need to say more. Celestial by all means. What makes Dil Se songs so remarkable is "Chaiyya chaiyya," one of the most exhilarating musical sequences in all of cinema, in which the romantic leads dance on top of an actual moving train that winds precariously along a mountain path. Eventually "Chaiyya chaiyya" unanimously selected as one of the top ten songs of all time in an international poll conducted by BBC. As usual there are few malayalis also sharing the credits in this whimsy stuff. The malayalam parts in the song "Jiya Jale" were written by our very own ever stable Gireesh Puthencherry and sung by MG Sreekumar. All other songs were too good n still holds predominant position in my list of favorites.Yet another element in which we "Malayalis" can be proud of is Cinematography. Awesome frames by Santosh SIvan furnished the movie more astounding. Each frames could easily convey what really director meant.Without him It would have been an ordinary experience for me. I am pretty impressed with the way he captured the song "CHAIYYA CHAIYYA" and "dil se re". Other technical aspects like audiography and BGM did impressed many critics as well. At times I forgot about the screenplay and totally allied with magical BG score by ARR. I should say he simply stole the show. On a negative note I am not that impressed with the performance of the lead as well as supporting actors. Did not feel the ingenuity in SRK's acting. Lack of versatility definitely effected him in this movie big time. And yeah it was just an okay performance from Manisha as well. Initially Maniratnam planned to cast Simran as Preeti Nair but she apparently stepped back and he opted Preeti Zinta. She was the only relief for me as far as the performance is concerned. In fact I don't expect any débutante to play something exceptional on screen so neither did she, still loved the charm and cuteness of Preeti and that really enraptured the experience. None of the supporting artists had to do anything remarkable and all of them went unnoticed.It is really sad that movie failed to create an impact in BO even though the movie had its own flavors to tremble every records. Not the first time we are witnessing something like this In fact we are quite used to it. In the current scenario "Dil Se" would have been a mighty hit since now a days some baseless, obnoxious movies collecting billions and trillions. No matter its a hit or bombed "Dil Se" is one of my favorite and it always will be. This might be the only movie I like not because of lead actors but the awesomeness of those who worked behind the camera, is what sticks me to "Dil Se". "Dil Se" always will be in my "Dil Mein

A movie straight from the heart. The movie was made only keeping the artistic integrity in mind. This shows in the final output as well as the movie is atypical from any movie you would see coming out of Bollywood. Shahrukh and the entire cast did an excellent job. The direction of Mani Ratnam is amazing. The story line is original. The movie topic has nationalistic overtures. But to me the movie is more about love and what heart truly desires. The movie touches the heart in a way few movies do.And what to say of music. A.R.Rehman + Gulzar in lyrics. It is the best of Rehman along with Roza.I have been hearing it for over a decade. It still gives me goosebumps.Wish they made more movies and more music like this. Epic.

I think this movie failed on several counts: first of all, the protagonists were thoroughly unlikeable characters. I found SRK to be obsessive and creepy when it came to the girl, and completely underdeveloped when it came to his job and politics. If he was supposed to represent the opinions of mainstream India about ethnic uprisings, I have no idea what those opinions are. He was underdeveloped, and the motivations of his love interest were equally obscured.Even beyond having weak story and characterizations, this movie could have been saved by having something interesting to say. Terrorism is obviously a very multi-faceted subject, and I have no idea what this movie was trying to say about it. Something that passed for a point was quite literally blown up by melodrama in the end.What saves the movie are visuals and music. The settings are quite stunning and there are even some fine supporting performances. Obviously the music is catchy.

Many reasons why I would have popped this DVD into the player this New Year. For starters, it's been sitting on my growing pile for a long time, and that iconic train dance sequence to the tune of the famous Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya just had to be seen again. With Shah Rukh Khan's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi being in my list of favourite movies of 2008, I'm still quite adamant to revisit all his past movies, a gargantuan task no less I believe. And this is some 10 years ago, which to my surprise he's not as buff back then unlike now, with a 6 pack that's not so prominent.SRK stars as Amarkanth Varma, a programme executive for All India Radio. An idealist in his job, he is one who never shies from doing tough interviews especially when dealing with his pet subject of finding out what people's reactions are after 50 years of India's Independence, and risks his life too in weeding out known terrorists to get their end of the story. Little does he know of course that this stint of his would somehow come closer to home as the story progresses.He meets a stranger one rainy night, and while allowing his glib tongue to run wild, the girl, Meghna (Manisha Koirala) never flinches, and is too aloof and cold. Undeterred, he managed to get a response for hot tea, before she disappears onto a train. Billed by Amar himself as possibly the shortest love story in his life, I would like to think that this is more of a one sided infatuation that will haunt him for the rest of the movie. Here's a man, while dogged in his pursuits in life, didn't learn when to give up when the signs obviously are in his face to back off. And as Fate would have it, he would bump into her during his assignments, which lead to some really persistent, clingy moments where even Meghna tries her very best to shake him off, quipping that time is short, which is a statement that will resonate more once the audience gets a glimpse into what this stranger is in town for.Who can also forget that moment atop a train, to the tune of Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya? You just gotta respect everyone involved in pulling off that performance atop the Barrack Valley Express, which goes around mountain sides, over valleys and across bridges, all the time with everyone dancing and singing. It's some amazing dance choreography coordinating movement atop the moving train sans safety harness, and even though you suspect the train might be moving at slower than normal speeds, it's still a film-making and logistical nightmare just to pull it off as it did.Directed by Mani Ratnam, who's credited with discovering A.R. Rahman in giving him the break into providing the music for movies (and such as how Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya is now such an enduring hit), the film initially didn't go down well with audiences who had thought that the film was strange. And it's not tough to find out why. It's not the usual masala formula that Bollywood usually employs, and it's not a romance per se since it's mostly rooted in one man's infatuation for a woman he cannot attain. While slated to be married to another girl (Preity Zinta in her debut, and I guess it's always a boon to be introduced to audiences via SRK, just as how Deepika Padukone was in Om Shanti Om, and Anushka Sharma in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), he still can't shake off the thoughts of Meghna in his mind, and despite his heated telling her off in a clash of ideals, still decided to listen to his heart and keep her safe from harm as best as he could. And watching the development of his love/infatuation was quite off at times too, as it looked very much like some really primal urges that needed to be satisfied during an extended and unexpected get together in the desert plains. Working for the radio also provided opportunities to express his love through songs (the Ae Ajnabi moment was extremely nuanced and pitch perfect), the movies does get progressively darker in tone, when he gets closer to his lady love.And I cannot deny that the ending was shocking in the way it presented itself. While on one hand it allowed for some closure to be achieved, I thought it was very extreme, but I guess that's how for some, that love does mean sacrifice of the highest order, that our hero gets the girl and saves the day, in a truly unconventional way.