DCH

Posted by shashi1 on August 18, 2001 at 03:06:43:

DIL CHAHATA HAI

Well can I call this a revelation movie for Hindi cinema in every sense for Production schedules, direction, appeal, presentation etc. etc.

Iam concerned now as Farhan has unnecessarily created pressure for his next venture by setting up an offbeat platform and high thresholds, which would be shattering if compromised.

What more could go right for this man Farhan? I'm not going to tell you, but it's worth the price of admission to find out.
Usually movies with lots of characters make it very hard to follow all the stories with any depth. But he has mastered this approach and given us a film saturated with interesting and quirky characters, each of which could have been the lead in any other movie. He does this so well, that we learn enough about each of them to actually care about them all. All the characters end up wanting the same thing—the Love. Throughout the film, I found myself routing for all the different characters depending on which story was followed at the time.

The story is about three friends---Sid for Siddharth (Akshaye Khanna), Akash (Aamir Khan) and Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) and their love lives. The film has been hyped as the story of three men and how they perceive love differently from one another. Sid, projected as a sensitive young man who is an aspiring artist, falls in love with an older woman, a divorcee with a drinking problem and a child who lives with the father (Alas!! he could not be offbeat here!!!). Akash is a Cas, a charmer who changes girlfriends every two weeks and is at heart a cynic, who believes love is all about control and power play. Saif is the gullible guy, who genuinely falls in love every time he meets a girl, but is inevitably disappointed. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, he is out there persevering, believing that he will find that 'special her', as long as he keeps searching. It is their story, told from their point of view. I felt the women in the story are incidental and there only as much as is needed for the men to establish their equation. It's the relationship amongst the friends that is vital and explored. The pace therefore is racy and these bits extremely watchable.

Not only were the stories and characters interesting, but the acting was terrific. This movie humorously delves into the mishaps of the expectations people place on each other in relationships and the disillusions people sometimes have of love. AND, it is full of musical references and innuendoes that any music snob will fall in love with.

What I really liked about this film was the quirkiness. All the characters were believable and all the situations are reasonable, but they were still weird and fun to watch. This is a good original story about a bunch of urban guys who get to learn a little from each other. The only thing that kept me from giving this film 5 stars was the directors compromise on few typical hindi cinema inanities like marriage drama scenes, must abroad locales and characters run time singing. Also when the fun time is over, there's very little novelty in the film. I felt it left the offbeatness of director a bit flat or cut off. Maybe it’s a hangover of Mama’s (HoneyIrani) mundane scripting skills

With this concept of film making Farhan has conveyed a message to all those yuppie movie making lot that cinema is just not about fantasy working always towards box office or number games or superficial statuettes. He presented the life in a simple nonchalant way without underlining on any of the so-called issues of unrealistic love triangles, rich-poor, communal, regional or national issues. Hope those who aspire to call themselves, as successful directors understand this. Life potrayed in movies should not be carried away with loony lavishness making a mockery of money, spoony sentiments and blind & noisy patriotism.
The audience now is quite intelligent enough about the naunces of movie making and one hope to provide them more oppurtunities of quality cinema, which every one can relate to or connect to.

Coming to performances it is a damned shame that Aaamir has not been similarly honored or revered as the so-called top lot of mainstream. He is undoubtedly the premiere versatile actor of this generation, capable perhaps of high drama as well if given the chance. Akshaey showed terrific control over his character and exemplified how one is supposed to control ones sensitivities without stammering, shouting or creating any ruckus. Maybe he is too good to be in Bollywood unless explored by some venturous diretors like Farhan. Saif is impeccable with his comic timing and served the comic tonic to all those who were deprived of real sensible execution of humor. Priety is pretty, Dimple is apt but sonali is awkward and glossy in appeal.

Here it is in a nutshell. It has an overall gritty screenplay, which slackened at times (maybe HoneyIrani’s courtesy), that is not worthy mention as its actors gave more to it than it deserves. The result is eminently watchable, but not earth shattering. It gives the audience for these sorts of movies everything they are looking for: likable stars in hackneyed roles, romance, light humor, and a realistic happy ending. But it has no ambitions beyond that and it delivers what it has to deliver in the most professional manner.
It isn't a bad calculated bubble gum movie for urban professional lots unlike some stupid artificial saccharine romances. Might miss out a bit by not appealing to the rural lots.

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