From tackling grim and mature subjects like Arth (1982), Janam (1985) and Naam (1986) in the 80s, Mahesh Bhatt moved on to more commercial cinema in the 90s. Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin was a musical romcom starring Aamir Khan, Pooja Bhatt and Anupam Kher.
Loosely inspired from 'It Happened One Night' (1934), Bhatt Saahab was clever enough to indianise the plot for his audience through a lovely soundtrack (Nadeem Shravan in full form) and presenting a fresh young pair - Aamir and Pooja - who sadly never teamed up again.
Pooja played a richie rich heiress on the run from her eccentric father (Anupam Kher) while Aamir Khan was Raghu Jaitley, a street smart journo, who strikes a deal to help her out in return for her exclusive story. The film also had elements of 'road movie genre' which was not quite common in Bollywood those days.
Aamir and Pooja rocked as a pair and this film certainly ranks amongst Pooja's top three performances - the other two being Daddy (1990) and Sadak (1991).
I watched the film in its first weekend at Gaiety Galaxy, Bandra and then multiple times on VHS. The melodious numbers, Aamir Pooja's super cool chemistry and the hilarious climax is still etched in my mind.
Do give it a try if you still haven't seen it.
