"Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" is Bollywood in its purest form - and a stunning achievement. It's an epic of grand emotions, gorgeously filmed and well acted. At 188 minutes, it seldom seems overlong and at the end left me crying. Yes, they pulled all the right strings.
The story tells of Sameer (Salman Khan) who comes from Italy to India to learn classic songs - and falls in love with Nandini (Aishwarya Rai), the daughter of his teacher. I don't want to spoil what happens next, but a couple of unexpected things kept me involved in the somehow simple story.
The first hour does not really progress much story-wise. It's all character development and a lot of song and dance. It's actually more a mixture of a ballet and a musical, than a film. There's more music than in your average Bollywood film - and what feels different is that it's not your usual number where the actors pretend to sing, but it's more like traditional background music, where you listen to music and the actors dance and move to it.
The second half involves a lot less music but the plot gets heavier. And until the end, it builds up. Competent direction by Sanjay Leela Banshali ("Devdas"). Additionally, the images are amazing. Director of photography Anil Mehta ("Lagaan") is in the bloom of his craft. Even if you don't like the story, you'd have to agree that it's a visual feast.
That, of course, is also true for Aishwarya Rai. 1994's Miss World has never looked this good, I believe. She radiates beauty in almost every shot and is the most charming when she's the most natural. It's easy to see why Sameer would fall in love with her. Khan plays Sameer as he plays a lot of his characters, and it works. He too looks very good in the film. Of course he takes off his shirt a lot - but his body appears more virile than in other pictures so that it too works well. Finally, Ajay Devgan plays the solid counterpart to the two love birds. His role gets more important as the film progresses and his performance comes off as both strong and restrained.
"HDDCS" might have some flaws (the music, although rather good, is not memorable), but it is great entertainment. Out of all the love stories Bollywood offers us each year, this one emerges as a winner.
Rating 8/10
