I am not a fan of commercial Hindi cinema. Having said that, I have to say that really liked Dil Se. Mani Rathnam tries to deviate from the norm and try to attempt a story that at once captivates and disturbs. Understated nuanced acting, not valued by most Indian actors, is the norm in this movie. The images are haunting, the sensibilities are delicate and the scenery breathtaking. If you plan to see only one Hindi film that you plan to see, this should be it. Having said that, Rathnam fails in his attempt to placate the average moviegoer of India by stuffing the movie with 5 (beautifully choreographed and well-recorded) songs that jarres the narrative. Also at least at one occasion (immediately after Amarkanth Varma witnesses Meghna's outbreak right before the storm) the editing is crude and sticks like an afterthought. Manisha Koirala could well be the successor to Shabana Azmi if she chooses her roles well. Shahrukh khan is refreshing in this departure from his regular song and dance routine.

This was the first actual Bollywood film I've ever seen. I knew nothing about it going in, other than that it was considered a classic and featured "that Indian guy" (Khan) who shows up in every other film. Needless to say, after I became accustomed to the singing and dancing, I was able to dig in to the film a bit. It got slow at times but I was intensely interested in figuring out what the heck was going on. In the final moments of the film, my friend and I just sat frozen. I've never seen a movie that had singing, dancing, and ended with a bang. Needless to say, I'm hooked on Bollywood and determined to make everyone I know watch this film.

Mani Ratnam's Dil Se is a classic example of casting gone wrong for a very good storyline. Well, at least, for the male lead. Such was the persona of Shah Rukh Khan as a romantic hero that it was improbable that the burning issue of North-East insurgence would salvage this wonderfully-crafted film from the fate it suffered.

On the whole, the film impresses, with its breath-taking visuals of Ladakh and the North-East, the mesmerizing music, and a fiery performance from Manisha Koirala. Granted that Priety Zinta was more of an ugly duckling than the elegant woman she is now, hers was a delightful debut. But the biggest disappointment is Shah Rukh. Tied to a role light years apart from the moon-gazing, mandolin-strumming Casanova that he was so accustomed to, he fails to bring the required wee-bit restraint to an investigating reporter. Perhaps, movies with hard-hitting realism were not his forte then.

Despite that, there are plenty of sequences worth remembering: the disturbing throwbacks into Meghna's (Manisha) past; the awkward interaction between Amar (Shah Rukh) and Preeti (Zinta) and that song on top of a train. I read somewhere that the songs were brilliant to listen to, but were inserted at the most inappropriate of moments in the film. I don't disagree. However, considering the length and the pace of the storyline, I wouldn't blame the editor and the director either. In any case, the songs are fabulous on their own and take the listener on a rich and vibrant journey of foot-tapping modernity and old world classicism. There is also a mournful melody rendered by the then-rejuvenated Sukhwinder Singh that somehow escaped a listing on the soundtrack. Maybe, you need to watch the movie to savor that.

It is definitely worth watching and more realistic than the fare dished out by Karan Johar and his ilk, but it is more an adventure of human motivations than a treatise on terrorism that the filmmakers would like us to believe. Pity, it suffered badly at the box-office.