Dil Se - anatomy of a Masterpiece

An auteur by Mani Ratnam. It is the third film in the trilogy after Roja and Bombay, by the director. And just like Roja and Bombay, he finds a way to camouflage the socio-political commentary to go with it. But it is the delicate manner in which Mani Ratnam blends the elements of romance and suspense is a living testament to his creative genius. The tale of love in the backdrop of terrorism. Dil we made on the structure of realism and formalism. Mani Ratnam has incorporated every possible element of the real world, and the elements of cinematic significance, semiotics and symbols. Dil Se was actually way ahead of its time.

Dil Se is romantic thriller, based on ancient Arabic literature ‘the seven shades of love’. From the beginning till the end, film processes the stages of love along with the characters. The stages are Attraction (hub), Infatuation (uns), Love (Ishq), Reverence (akidat), Worship (ibadat), Obsession (junoon), and Death (mout).

Dil Se stars Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala in the lead roles. The movie costars Preity Zinta (in her film debut), Raghuvir Yadav, Zohra Sehgal, Piyush Mishra and Arundhati Nag.

Story & Narration Structure -

The film presents the tale of a Delhi-based radio broadcaster named Amarkanth Varma who gets smitten by the beauty of a mysterious girl, Meghna alias Moina, whom he meets at a deserted railway station in the middle of a rainy night. What starts off as physical attraction slowly takes the form of obsessive love as he chases her down with the hope of marrying her. Alas, their love is doomed! While she knows it from the very onset, he must learn it the hard way.

The narration structure of the film is the standard structure of 3 Acts. From introduction, initial/rising action, mid-point/crises, falling action, and Solution.

Act 1-

Film starts with the introduction of main leads Amar and Meghna, and the initial action occurs when Amar sees Meghna in the hill station and starts following her. Later, Amar proposes to her, but she rejects him.

Act 2-

Mid-point is in Ladakh, Amar spots Meghna in Ladakh fest and follows her again. In one of the scenes in Ladakh, Meghna complexities and trauma are disclosed when Amar embraces her against her will. At this moment of passion, she gets a seizure, when her memories resurface. Amar encourages her to cry and move past her anger deep-rooted in her. Meghna resists him and regains her composure. The scene brings up the issues of trust and intimacy faced by Meghna, defining her reason for not reciprocating Amar’s love.

Falling action is when Meghna leaves Amar again without telling. After spending a night together in the desert, she left him alone.

Act 3-

In the climax Meghna comes back in Amar’s life. She has a job to accomplish as a terrorist, and she comes to Amar for help. Whereas, Amar is getting engaged to Preeti (Preeti Zinta). Amar has a choice to make between his past and future.

Resolution – Amar couldn’t stop Meghna from the violence, from revenge. Amar chooses death in her embrace. Amar’s attraction for Meghna finally led to his death, actually for both of them.

Characters --

Meghna her story is of lost innocence by the ferocity of civil war. She was raped as a child, village burnt and family killed. Being the victim of war, she is recruited in the extremist groups, and she survived, but clearly she is suffering from PTSD. Her memories of pain and trauma, psychological and physical, are inflicted under the surface. All the symptoms are evident in her interaction with Amar, which intrigues him.

Amar is a simple, fun-loving, happy go, AIR Programme Executive. Amar is patriot like his father, who was a soldier who died in the line of duty. He is focused, determined and clear about his life and career, but not so about his love.

Direction & Cinematography and Sound & Music

Every scene is crafted with care and a conscious representation of the stages. The introduction scene between the characters is a brilliant cinematographic example. Santosh Sivan’s exquisite cinematography. It’s realistic and dreamy at the same time. The scene on a train platform at night during a rainfall. Amar is wearing a Red jacket and Meghna is laying on a bench under a blanket. Representing Amar as loud and Meghna as silent who has her dark secrets. It’s the beginning of stage 1 ‘Attraction’. The cliché of love at first sight is well-equipped with curiosity.

Shah Rukh Khan's heart-breaking performance is the heart of the film and Manisha Koirala's beguiling performance is the soul. Strictly dressed and with minimal make-up and less dialogue, she brings Meghna alive with her innocence. Manisha Koirala as Meghna, she is a quintessential femme fatale destined to be doomed. She goes through a gamut of emotions as we get to witness her unbridled innocence, cold detachment, epileptic delirium, playful interludes, vengeful rage, and serene submissiveness. In the Ladakh sequences, Koirala is a sight to behold.

The songs are ingeniously woven into the narrative. The creative usage of the song “Ae Ajnabee" which gets played on the radio at different points in the movie and serves as a leitmotif for the longing felt by Amar and Meghna. It simultaneously fulfils the purpose of bringing the two characters together, again and again: every time Meghna listens to the song being played on the radio, she feels attracted to Amar in spite of herself.

On the other hand, the songs "Dil Se Re" and "Satrangi Re" are set in a state of dream-though, either are depicted from the point of view of Amar or Meghna or both.

Dil Se is one of the best songs ever produced. There is a semiotic element in every single scene and line of the lyrics. It subverts the notion of romance with the harshness of reality, a portrayal of violent reality conflict and fear, that mirrors the reality. There is a hero Amar who protects the damsel Meghna (heroine) from the danger.

The scenes of Amar and Meghna singing and dancing amidst curfew lanes, army, and blasts. They hug with the explosion in the background, there are fields like a romantic song but also Meghna with flowers in the graveyard. The statue of Subhash Chandra Bose (who was a non-believer of non-violence, depicting the choice of Meghna). As a phrase goes, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. The title is also the preview of the climax as in this dream (song) they hug, and the explosion is in background but in real life, at the end they hug and explode.

The song ends with a shot of Amar and Meghna meeting each other halfway on the bridge, probably a solution, of not only political conflict but also for the matters of heart.

Satrangi Re is a song which has all the seven stages of love defined in itself. Amar calling Meghna Satrangi Re, who is shown in all the seven colors of rainbow in the song. Not just the literal portrayal of colors and the dispersion of light but also the symbolism alluding to these seven stages.

At some point in the song, Amar is near to Meghna, and in the next shot he is far away. When he is near it appears as a dream, represented by the black color worn by Meghna (Manisha Koirala). A. R. Rahman's haunting background music and Santosh Sivan's startling cinematography make it a must-watch.