(For Aditya)
Not since we smoked pot in secret for the first time – in our college loo of all places – have we derived so much pleasure. (Like our former President Bill Clinton, we didn’t inhale… Ha ha, as if you believe us.)
Really, rarely have we seen a Hindi movie with mucho gusto as Dil Chahta Hai.
Featuring three decent actors Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna, Dil Chahta Hai is one of the few Bollywood movies that don’t leave you with a hangover or that nagging doubt of whether you wore a rubber last night.
Dil Chahta Hai’s story is nothing to write home about. It’s about three close friends just out of college and their pranks, fights, infatuations, getting bashed up, unrequited love and the like.
But it’s the solid screenplay, lovely songs and overall execution that distinguishes Dil Chahta Hai from the usual Bollywood offal.
Dil Chahta Hai has something for everyone – good acting, nice songs, phoren scenes (Australia), lots of pyaar, the nostalgics have Dimple, and acceptable photography. Wait, there’s even a Troilus and Cressida opera for the snooty high falutin artsy types.
And for the drooling, priapically inclined there’s Preity Zinta.
Yes, Preity Zinta looking absolutely yummelicious (best of all in the opera scene). Yummm, Yummm Yummm. What would we not give to launch a frontal assault, all guns blazing and lob our gonads (oops, did we really say gonads) at this nymph….
If you thought Preity was delicious in that great Bollywood moment Idhar Chala, Udhar Chala, you ain’t seen nothing yet. You ain’t seen nothing, pretty until you see Preity in Dil Chahta Hai. The babe was just an appetizer in Koi Mil Gaya, here she’s a sumptuous feast. Take a bite anywhere in that luscious creamy delight, and you are a winner.
Lipsmackingly beautiful in every frame she features in, all we can say is that after God created this divine melody, he had completely exhausted all his goodies by the time he got to Abhishek Bachchan.
Alas, Preity doesn’t have much of a role in the movie as we’d have liked. But that’s the way it should be because the whole of this movie has turned out to be so much more than the sum of its individual parts like fine acting, pleasing music, tight screenplay or pretty faces.
One of the most irritating aspects of Bollywood and more so in Kollywood movies is what passes for acting. In our view, it’s absolutely pitiful.
Dil Chahta Hai pleases with respectable performances from all three (Aamir, Akshaye and Saif) with Aamir seemingly having slightly more screen time.
The casting couldn’t be better. Akshaye Khanna for the role of a pensive painter and the more sober and restrained personality among the three friends. Saif Ali Khan as the young fella forever losing his heart and Aamir Khan, the most boisterous – and most immune to the sting of love.
Did we tell you? Our Bobby girl Dimple Kapadia is here too, playing the role of a divorced alcoholic, mother, interior designer and the object of Akshaye Khanna’s affections. But what’s with the gap in her teeth (Is Rajesh Khanna not making his monthly alimony payments?).
Music. Yes, siree – Music is one of the highlights of Dil Chahta Hai.
Our favorite song was obviously the title song Dil Chahta Hai. Our second favorite was Jaane Kyon song picturized in Sydney…Preity Zinta and Aamir Khan change their dresses eight times in the course of this song.
Wo Ladki Hai Kahaan was the zaniest. Loved it.
Even that silly dance song Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe in the beginning of the movie pleased us.
If there are any jarring notes in Dil Chahta Hai, it’s that the movie presents a view of India as seen through the eyes of the uppah classes, the jet-setting, holidaying in 5-star Goa resorts, with offices in Australia, attending art-exhibitions and traveling in Mercedes convertibles.
No aam janta or garib log in this sanitized India that’s disinfected of anything ugly (after seeing Dil Chahta Hai, people would think you are crazy if you told them that two million Mumbaikars defecate everyday in the open).
Also after all the moaning and the Tanhayee, when Aamir Khan’s character Akash finally goes to Shalini’s (Preity Zinta) marriage ceremony and proposes to her the scene turned out to be flat. Aamir Khan just failed to deliver the goods.
And what exactly does Shalini do in the movie other than looking angelically beautiful, holidaying at her Mukesh uncle’s place in Australia and the like. Wow, a life of leisure.
But no don’t get us wrong because these are minor quibbles in an otherwise fine Bollywood entertainer.
SearchIndia.com heartily recommends Dil Chata Hai. Hey, we recommend that you even buy this DVD (ah, wait…we forgot you guys are Indians nah, so you’ll probably pirate it or download it illegally 😉 ).
Dil Chahta Hai – A Charmer added by SearchIndia.com on
View all posts by SearchIndia.com →
is there absolutely no piracy in U.S.? anyway,i had recommended DCH because i thought farhan akhtar was a good director….so your view on his work in DCH?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: so your view on his work in DCH
Farhan Akhtar did a good job in Dil Chahta Hai. We will most likely buy the movie for our collection.
But we found him mediocre in the new Don.
Maybe, the success of Dil Chahta Hai went to his head.
2. is there absolutely no piracy in U.S.?
Not much for Hollywood movie DVDs. Though occasionally we’ve seen some pirated stuff in L.A., in the Canal St area of lower Manhattan and once or twice on the subway. Downloads, maybe yes to some extent. It’s also a question of culture. Many desis will not care for the theatrical experience and won’t mind watching a new movie on their tiny PC monitors to save some $$ but a lot of Americans have a different mindset. Many of them want the real movie experience in a theatre. And tickets for a matinee are just $6-$8. BTW, Tamil movies are the most expensive in the U.S.- can range from $11-$25. Dunno why.
As for music, there’s been some illegal downloading (the scale is debatable) that started big time with Napster, which was ultimately shut down by the record labels. Subsequently, the music industry has waged a very aggressive campaign here in the media & in the courts, filed a lot of cases against students, forced them to fork out hefty fines et al. Music piracy/illegal downloading is to some extent under control but has not completely disappeared. The U.S. music industry blames illegal downloading but their woes and wounds are mostly self-inflicted.
But Bollywood DVDs are available at most Indian grocery stores here within 2 or 3 days after the movie is released in theatres here. You can rent the movie for $1 or $2 a day or buy it for $7 or $8.
Bottomline – the scale of piracy for Hollywood movies (at least the DVDs definitely) is minuscule compared to Bollywood movies.
Piracy is not the problem of Indians alone.. US fellas are considering aXXo the notorious DVD,CD Ripper as modern robinhood.. What a Pity 🙁
And Thanks SearchIndia.. This is the best movie so far by Farhan Akthar.. Lakshya is also a fine movie…
Shankar ehsaan loy 😀 One of the better composers here.. Love their compositions..
In Sri Lanka we get lot of shops openly selling pirated CD and it’s a big business over there. Most of the pirated stuff are coming from Pakistan I think. In some of the cover designs the names are declared much similar to Pakistani names.
Some you get many movies in single DVD. You get almost all the Hollywood stuff. Even the porno stuff are sold secretly. They call “double” “triple” for soft and hardcore stuff. I wonder what US Embassy guys are doing there without prosecuting these guys.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: Even the porno stuff are sold secretly. They call “double” “triple” for soft and hardcore stuff. I wonder what US Embassy guys are doing there without prosecuting these guys
God, we hope our U.S. embassies in Sri Lanka and elsewhere are working on more important issues than prosecuting those who make copies of gangbang movies.
I’m not talking about the gangbang movies, but the mainstream Hollywood movies.
Not only that, we even get all the software for nothing. You go to the colombo city’s main bazaar area. All you have to say is the title of a software, they have it all.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: Not only that, we even get all the software for nothing. You go to the colombo city’s main bazaar area. All you have to say is the title of a software, they have it all
With everyone ripping off the Americans these days (literally and figuratively), no wonder our country is going down the toilet.
I read somewhere that Asha downloads most Hollywood movies.. dunno from where.. But the fear of FBI may dissuade people in the US from doing the same.
Sorry to see that all the comments are about piracy and not a single one is about the movie reviewed, though I’m afraid I have to follow suit as I haven’t watched the movie yet.
Piracy of movie DVDs is a thriving business in India and is unlikely to be curbed anytime soon. It’s rampant on the streets of most Indian cities.
The primary reason for this is the high price of most worthwhile DVD titles sold in the country. Most Indians wont even consider buying an original when they can get a pirated version for less than a tenth of the price. If DVD prices are not slashed and slashed fast, piracy is here to stay.
But With the advent of DVD rental services like Bigflix (bigflix.com) which is not unlike Netflix in the US, we might see the demand for pirated titles lessen a bit.
By the way, I have a question for you SI which caught my curiosity and which I’ve wanted to ask you for a while now:
I’ve seen you use the expression ‘see the light of the day’ many a time in your reviews but I’ve always known the expression to be ‘see the light of day’. Is it ok for the extra ‘the’ to be there? 🙂
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: Piracy of movie DVDs is a thriving business in India and is unlikely to be curbed anytime soon. It’s rampant on the streets of most Indian cities.
The primary reason for this is the high price of most worthwhile DVD titles sold in the country.
High price of the DVDs is only part of the reason.
Indians in general are cheapos and have very little respect for others’ intellectual property. We see that among the NRIs/Indian-Americans too. Instead of paying $8 and seeing the matinee show of a Bollywood movie, they’ll wait for a couple of days to rent the pirated DVD from the Indian grocery store for a buck.
Bollywood producers and directors steal plots/storylines from Hollywood movies and their customers, the Bollywood moviegoers, steal/pirate the DVDs of the stolen Bollywood movies.
We think cheap behaviour is in the Indian DNA. Whether they’re in India or USA, it’s all the same.
2. You write: I’ve seen you use the expression ’see the light of the day’ many a time in your reviews but I’ve always known the expression to be ’see the light of day’. Is it ok for the extra ‘the’ to be there?
We’ve removed the extra ‘the’ in our posts and comments…a lot of people use it these days. But it’s not required.
Superb acting in this movie with lovely songs to go with it. All 3 of the guys deserve great credit for their acting in this movie. I liked Akshay the best in this movie, and i dont know why he dont get many good roles, with the likes of Abishek (why god why) roaming the industry.
I think you lot should have a separate page for jokes/dissing actors etc as i find your humour first class. keep it up guys
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: I liked Akshay the best in this movie,
We like Akshaye Khanna too. He’s a far superior actor compared to buffoons like Abhishek Bachchan, Harman Baweja, John Abraham, Salman Khan, Vivek Oberoi …
Watching/listening to Dil Chahta Hai songs as we type this response.
2. You write above: I liked Akshay the best in this movie, and i dont know why he dont get many good roles, with the likes of Abishek (why god why) roaming the industry.
In life, hard work and talent alone are not enough to succeed. You also need Dame Luck on your side.
In Tamil Nadu, they have a saying that if you have a mole on your d**k, things always work out well. Not sure, if it’s true… One of these days, we hope some TV program in India gets all these stars to strip so that we can test the hypothesis of the LTTE monkeys a.k.a. citizens of Tamil Nadu. 😉
Seen this movie three years back, as you said the movie goes downhill once the buildup of climax starts… I stumbled upon ur review of “black” and shocked to see a “very good” comment for this over exaggerated, dramaticized and cinematicized piece of ****.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: I stumbled upon ur review of “black” and shocked to see a “very good” comment for this over exaggerated, dramaticized and cinematicized piece of ****.
If we were to review Black today, we might not be so cloyingly effusive in our praise for this movie.
That said, we still consider Black a decent movie compared to much of the trash that flows out of the Bollywod or Kollywood sewers.
According to me “black” is too much over rated, does not deserve 99% of credits given to it, with only photography and the performance of little rani stands out and almost all others are unrealistic. Bollywood has now become factory producing craps in big budgets, with no movies this year was watchable (leave alone taare zameen par).
Atleast Tamil has some good releases like Anjaathe Subramaniyapuram and kalloori (SI is never going to get a chance to watch these any time soon), and In english also, i am fed up with action and so called thrillers this year. Nothing to watch and i am starving for good movies (any language).
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Just watched Lions for Lambs. The movie didn’t do that well at the box office but we thought it was decent (but not great).
First RedBox DVD (coupon code: BREAKROOM).
what?! you gave Black a good review?
That is by far the most pretentious, pompous “please give me an Oscar nom because i’m making a realistic movie without songs” movie out of Bollywood yet.
What was with that weird pseudo colouring and British village set design?
Saawariya was an exquisite piece of work but Black was horrid. I liked Khamoshi as well.
I agree with you, sanewar. The best thing to do is watch Malayalam flicks from the eighties & nineties.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We loved Saawariya too. Here’s the review.
The best role of this movie was of Saif,and he performed brilliantly.
BTW,SI,have you seen Paheli? I saw it today,and it was brilliant!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: BTW,SI,have you seen Paheli?
Yes. Pl see Paheli.
I also watched DCH 3 years ago.. was disappointed after all the hype.. but much better than a regular hindi movie..
I don’t if you have developed the redbox habit yet.. Today’s code 23MJT7.
Watched a movie called Wanted from redbox – totally worth the 0$ I paid for it.. Haven’t watched such a preposterous Hollywood movie.. but a good movie for drunk guys who like action.. . I liked McAvoy’s performance and the mindless action and the two NIN songs.. but hated.. err.. disliked.. Jolie
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Have rented just one so far from RedBox – Lions for Lambs…will probably pick up one more in a couple of hours.
Wll skip Wanted.
Hey, good to see a positive review for a Hindi movie at last! Though I was pretty sure of it when you mentioned DCH, its like a cult classic here in India. I’ve seen it umpteen times, and every time I watch it I laugh at at Saif’s antics, Aamir’s smug faced jokes, and Akshaye’s subtle sense of humor. The girls r good, yeah. For a first timer, Farhan Akhtar’s done a great job, and Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy ROCK as they always do. I have to admit I’m more than partial towards this flick, and for me, its The Perfect movie. Thanks a ton for givin it a positive review dude, wudve felt real bad if u had killed it 🙂
BTW, why do u pick on us poor Indians so much?! Leave us be, let us lick our wounds in peace, please!
And ohh yeah, there have been posts on whether u r a she/he/they, whether you are this, whether you are that, but the one thing I can infer from all your posts is that you are no longer an Indian citizen(s). I’m right, aint I? 😉
At Þórarinsdóttir: I download torrent files of movies, and then download the actual movie at my leisure. Maybe its illegal, but then since our DVD stores here dont usually have the movies I request(usually hollywood movies) I download them directly from the net. They are of DVD quality. Regd Hindi movies, I watch them directly at the theatre, and those I dont watch at the theatre, I usually dont watch at all. There are many torrent sites that you can find, and u can literally get any Hollywood movie u wish to see, and as per stats they r downloaded thousands of times, I dont know whether by Indians or by other cheapos like us. If cheapos like us exist, that is.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: the one thing I can infer from all your posts is that you are no longer an Indian citizen(s). I’m right, aint I?
2. You write: there have been posts on whether u r a she/he/they
How considerate of you to forget the pronoun it.
Muchas gracias, Senorita.
Well, that was sweet! And hey, how can I ever call u “it”! I dont know your identity, but you are more human than most people I know. Cya later, senor 🙂
I see Paheli was mentioned. Nice movie. But the original movie version in Kannada is even better. It is called Nagamandala. Prakash Raj in his younger days plays SRK’s role. And the ghost in paheli is replaced by a snake in the guise of a man. Try to catch it SI.
Cheers
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: But the original movie version in Kannada is even better. It is called Nagamandala. Prakash Raj in his younger days plays SRK’s role….Try to catch it SI.
Americadalli Kannada cinema sikkadu baala kashta, swami (Hard to get hold of Kannada movies in the U.S.)
Nevertheless, we’ll try to get both Nagamandala & Mungaru…
Let’s leave you with two nice Kannada songs – Athi Madhura Anuraaga & Naavaduva Nudiye…Kannada Nudi….Gandhada Gudi
Hi SI
Just to forewarn you that Kollywood and Sandalwood filmakers drink water from the same river. So the kind of films are also almost of the same calibre. There are however exceptions(very rare) in both the industries.
So please view the movie only if it comes highly recommended. 🙂
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: Just to forewarn you that Kollywood and Sandalwood filmakers drink water from the same river
Nicely put.
Here’s a list of some Great Rajkumar songs.