The title of the film itself is very effective since it is a question; what should this heart do? The audience is given time to react to the title as it fits in with the story.
Prakash Jha’s Dil Kya Kare was the first film that Kajol and Ajay Devgan co-starred after their love marriage. Along side them was Mahima Choudary and Chandrachur Singh.
The Plot
The film begins in a light, loving mood as the scene is set with Kavita (Mahima Choudary) and Anand (Ajay Devgan) playing happy families with their loving daughter Neha (Akshita Garud). Anand and Kavita’s love is indicated on a daily basis before dropping Neha to school Anand tells her that he has forgotten his keys, an excuse to go back inside the house and kiss goodbye to his dear wife.
Everything seems to be going well until Anand goes on a business trip and at home Neha is given expensive toys by an unseen stranger. Kavita doesn’t seem to mind as she thinks it’s a family friend but she still has fear in her heart.
Somu (Chandrachur Singh) is close to Kavita and her family. He is a poet who has just launched his book and insists that Kavita comes with him to the special signing. Neha is then in school and Kavita makes it clear to her to wait.
With the signing over, Kavita and Somu return a few minutes late to find Neha is missing. Panic struck, Kavita runs around trying to find her beloved daughter. She asks the teacher who replies by saying a woman came to get her who she called good aunty. Kavita is shocked, and thinks that Neha has been kidnapped. She goes to the police station and files a missing report but the officer says to track Neha down, he will need a photograph. Kavita returns home to find Neha’s photograph only to find Neha has already arrived home.
Kavita is delighted as her worry disappears. She asks how she arrived, and Neha replies, ‘My good aunty picked me up.’
A question is raised in Kavita’s heart, as she wants to know who this woman is and why she secretly meets her daughter.
Her questions are answered when Neha goes missing after being taken out of school for a few days. Kavita is again full of panic but her mystery is solved when she finds Neha in the nearby park sitting on a swing, with the stranger. At first, angry and upset, Kavita lashes out at the woman but later learns that she is the real birth mother of Neha.
Flashbacks take the audience back to reveal that Kavita lost her child as a result of a miscarriage and decided to adopt the little girl. Since then she has treated Neha to being her blood. The woman whose name is Nandita Rai (Kajol) tells her why she was forced to give up her child. Understanding the grief of the real mother, Kavita tells Neha to stay with them for a day and Neha also insists, so Nandita agrees.
Anand arrives back and Kavita tells him that the stranger was the real mother of Neha. He tells her that he wants to meet this lady, so Kavita tells him she is in the kitchen. Nandita has her back to the door and when she is called and turns around to see Anand, they are both shocked…. What’s the secret behind all of this?
The Performances
Mahima delivers the role of her character, fabulously. Her cries and panic opens the heart of the women in the audience, as they see the love of mother for daughter and try to fit themselves in the picture.
Kajol, as always works fabulously as the ‘stranger’. She too makes the audience emotional with her past and the love for her lover and daughter.
Ajay, being an action man discovers a different role as a man caught in love. He plays his character in a sweet, charming way and looks brilliant as a caring father.
Chandrachur Singh is a great actor however; his role in this film is wasted. He does not rise in the film, as he is only a college time admirer of Kavita who wants to marry Nandita now.
Akshita Garud as a child performs at her best. She is fun loving, and her cute, innocent face gets love from the audience as the film moves on.
All characters gain sympathy from the audience in their own way.
Music flows with the mood of the story, as flashbacks are brought through the songs. The emotional songs like the title song adds melancholy for the characters as you feel yourself in their position.
The happy songs, lift up the atmosphere as they look back at the good memories of life...
All characters gain sympathy from the audience in their own way. This is a highly, emotional love story, worth a watch!