Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa (2004)

Who payed the critics

Let's be realistic.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Rishabh (Salman Khan) and Pari (Preity Zinta) have a deeply happy, loving marriage until Pari is killed in an accident. At her death, she becomes connected to a young woman (Dhani, played by Bhumika Chawla) in a real and tangible way. Unaware of the connection between them, Rishabh and Dhani meet. Dhani immediately falls in love with him, and Rishabh, though attracted, fights against it, as he'd rather live in the past with Pari. When the connection is discovered, their lives will be changed.This is a sweet, emotional drama, celebrating the depth of true love. Khan has good chemistry with both Zinta and Chawla, and all play their parts well. Helen plays Dhani's grandmother and is, as always, a delight. The music is nice, but the choreography is below average. Overall, despite a resolution I found to be too quick, this is an excellent film.

Atul Agnihotri's Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha could and would have been a good film if the story had not taken this entire turn lifted from Return to Me. The film's first half is just fun to watch. It is simple, lovely and we are introduced to a nice couple played by Salman Khan and Preity Zinta. This part is heartwarming, the story follows the couple's ordinary but enjoyable life. What makes this part particularly entertaining is the presence of the marvelous Preity Zinta, who plays a young doctor named Pari and Salman Khan's wife. Zinta is as natural and likable as always and she plays her role with conviction and style in a way that when she's on-screen, nothing else matters. But then the movie takes a drastic dramatic turn, and instead of Zinta we are left with her heart and with a Bhoomika Chawla, who plays one of her heart patients. Not only is it unoriginal, it's terribly clichéd. The story becomes awfully predictable, uninspiring and melodramatic. Nothing against Bhoomika Chawla, who was pretty good in the previous year's Tere Naam, but she really looks bland here and she often displays a kind of laziness in her expressions that is very tiresome, particularly when compared to the lively Preity Zinta, whom she is supposed to replace. As for Salman, he does a thoroughly good job, but again, more in the first half as the second one does let him down a bit. Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha is not a horrible movie for it has its moments. The music is nothing special but the title track, composed by master A.R. Rahman is quite nice. The final verdict is below average, not recommended, and sadly so.

Makes an amazing start, but the second half is disappointing. Preity Zinta and Salman Khan have a wonderful chemistry, you can literally see the sparks fly!Performances were alright, Preity stood out and grabbed the audience's attention every time, the vivacious role of Pari was very well handled. Salman also did a decent enough job, though this is not one of his best performances. Though I must say he stole the show in the second half. Bhumika Chawla didn't do justice to her role at all. Who is she and who gave her this role?! And who on EARTH thought she could do it!? She had a meaty role but did not execute it well at all. I wasn't impressed.The story is a candyfloss type, very romantic, bubbly, dealing with love/heartbreak etc. But once Preity left nothing took it forward. This could have been done brilliantly, it just needed the right push.Music is gorgeous, seems like one of the only amazing things. Directing and script, were cheesy, but OK.Could have been better!

Atul Agnihotri has done an excellent job for a directorial debut. The first half is brilliant with a completely fresh appeal to it. Salman and Preity's relationship is illustrated beautifully. It is the perfect modern, youthful, romantic marriage. The second half has mostly Bhumika and Salman.Their relationship doesn't make sense. If the audience is supposed to believe that their relationship is based on the heart-thing (you'll see what I'm talking about when you watch the film), that's really dumb. Preity, as always, delivers a marvelous performance. Bhumika, unsurprisingly, is her bland self. Salman, however, is outstanding. His acting has improved by a quantum leap! His scenes are jaw-dropping well-acted. For the first ten months of 2004, I feel he deserves the best actor award for this movie. I've never seen such a talented Salman before. A.R. Rehman gives lovely, melodic tunes, and beautiful background music. Himesh Reshammiya's "Balle Balle" is a nice foot-tapping song.