First dates with SRK: Preity Zinta in Dil Se (1998)

7/11/2016

I first watched this film because I saw Chaiyya Chaiyya on YouTube. (How often does that happen? Daily, I'll bet!)

The first time I saw Dil Se, I was disturbed by the violence and devastated by the ending. I will admit to being a delicate flower when it comes to violent movies. Strong violent imagery stays with me longer than any other part of the film. You say "Godfather" and I see a horse head. Star Wars = the burned bodies on Tatooine. Indiana Jones = melting faces. So you can imagine that many of Shah Rukh Khan's films are tough for me, and Dil Se is full of scenes that, for me, are the stuff of nightmares.

But. It is also poetic and beautiful. The music (A.R. Rahman) is magnificent. The performances are outstanding. It is fast becoming one of my five favorite SRK films.

Preity Zinta, in her debut role as Preety, Amar/SRK's fiancé, is one of the reasons this film is so wonderful. It is an arranged marriage, so we actually see them meet for the first time and watch as they awkwardly get acquainted, and eventually agree to the match. He is already hopelessly in love with the mysterious Meghna*, and she has also loved and lost. Her honesty and directness is fresh and disarming, and Amar responds with a tragic mixture of resignation and pathos. Her attraction to him grows, and he plays along as the dutiful son and grandson, keeping his family happy while still pursuing Meghna. Preety represents his option to return to a normal life, to give up on Meghna, and she makes that choice very attractive. Clearly, Amar would not be "settling" for her. She is quite a catch, and would make him happy under other circumstances. But he cannot make that choice. It is poignant and powerful. This role won Zinta the award for best debut, and set her on a path of several more roles with Shah Rukh Khan, all of them fabulous!

So, now the questions:

What is your first impression of Amar? Earnest, passionate, and utterly sincere. Even though his obsession makes no logical sense, SRK makes his attraction to Meghna completely believable. His acceptance of the marriage to Preety is equally credible; at that point in the film, he has no hope of ever seeing Meghna again. The match with Preety will please his family, especially his beloved grandmother, and they definitely have the beginnings of good chemistry. In a different movie, she would be perfect for him.

What is Preety's first impression of Amar? You can tell that she think's he's pretty cute. Any hesitation she has comes from her own reluctance to marry and lose her independence. (The fact that he abandons her to chase after some random guy on the street gives her pause, but is evidently not a deal breaker.) Think of the kids! Guaranteed dimples!!!

Dimples galore!!!

How would you describe their chemistry over the course of the film? Sweet and natural. A bit awkward at the beginning, when it needs to be, and comfortable enough to lead you to hope it will all work out. I realized watching this how great he and Preity are as a working pair. They rarely get to "happy ever after", though. She loves and loses him in Kal Ho Naa Ho and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (both great movies, anyway.) Only in Veer-Zaara do they finally seal the deal -- eventually, but worth the wait.

If you had a first date with Amar, would you go on a second? Oh, yeah. He's good company and super polite with women. But his heart would never be mine, of course.

My favorite interaction:

Her big musical dance number, as Preety imagines the joy and passion of marriage to Amar.

Next date: Rani Mukerji in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai!

*Meghna is played by the amazing Manisha Koirala. I only wish they had made more films together, because their interactions are electric!

3 Comments

Ashley

7/22/2016 07:18:05 am

I first watched Dil Se because it was free on Amazon prime. It is definitely in my top 5 SRK films, as much for Manisha's and Preity's performance as for SRK's. I want to take a little time thinking over my comments, but came by to say thank you for this series! I'm really enjoying your posts and enjoying commenting. I wish more of your Twitter peeps would come over and hang out too. :)

Ashley

7/28/2016 01:21:45 pm

My comments are going to be long, and mostly not following the "first dates" theme, because I'm in love with the movie overall. Thanks for your indulgence/reading. I was also disturbed by Dil Se the first time I saw it. It stayed with me for days--especially the scenes where Meghna is either having flashbacks (in the PTSD sense) or recounting her story to Amar. I love the look, sound, and feel of the film, and as you say, the music and the performances are extraordinary.

This was maybe the 6th SRK movie I saw, and in the first dozen Hindi movies. Being a newbie with some Western pre-conceptions, I was intrigued by how many different kinds of women, how many different kinds of relationships--between women and women, men and women, men and men--play a part in this story. So many rich sketches or portraits of women--the station director, Amar's mom and grandma, Preety, Meghna and her cohort, even the grouchy woman on crutches.

And whatever it is about SRK the performer that catches and fascinates me, Dil Se has it in spades. SRK the cheeky flirt, SRK the enthusiastic if not masterful dancer, SRK the ardent lover (verging on stalking, but I have a rationalization for that which I'll get to later), SRK the dreamer, SRK the storyteller, SRK the awkward nerd, SRK the fighter. The scene where he's recounting his meeting with Meghna on the train platform is one of my all time favorites. I don't know many actors who could pull that off so convincingly, so seemingly un-self consciously.

At the same time I was bothered by Amar's stalker behavior and assault on Meghna, so had a hard time going along with the way that the tension and stakes escalate. Then it hit me that Amar is somehow damaged--has something missing. That's why his identity as an AIR executive is important, that's what drives him to take a remote post and seek out an interview with the "terrorists". So he seizes on Meghna as another thing to fill that emptiness with, another quest to pursue. Dil se is absolutely a political story, but also a story about two damaged people who love and save each other the best way they can. This is why the sufi-esque lyrics work so beautifully--seeking immolation in the Beloved. Just my take.

So, first take on Amar: cheeky and sweet in the rain, followed by overbrimming with sexy and fun energy in Chaiyya Chaiyya. Second take I just described.

Preety's first impression: I like how she "tests" him with potentially shocking revelations and questions, seeing how deep his middle class mores go. She likes his responses, and finds him attractive, endearingly open and awkward. She seems quite ok with taking the lead physically and romantically.

Chemistry over the course of the film: it's that healthy affection and attraction, with humor but also intensity, that some Hindi movies present as the ideal young love. I really enjoy how the Amar in Preety's fantasy of Jiya Jale is much more confident (experienced?), gorgeous, and sexy than the real Amar. She's hoping to bring out that fantasy Amar in the real Amar, I think.

Second date with Amar: Absolutely, no question. I'd have a good time listening to his stories and dreams, and a good time doing other things too, but I'd know that soon he'd need to be off in search of another quest.

Ashley

7/28/2016 01:27:15 pm

Just two more quick comments about things I noticed the first time on this re-watch. First, during the scene where Amar confronts Meghna at the parade rehearsal, the music playing in the background is a marching band arrangement of Aye Ajnabi--the song Meghna hears Amar play on the radio that reminds her of what she's missing out on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clr-5FqjTLc

Second, one member of the terrorist cell is Sanjay Mishra, who played the Colonel Sanders-looking character in Dilwale last year. Quite the contrast! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanjay_Mishra_(actor)

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First dates with SRK: Preity Zinta in Dil Se (1998)

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