Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam can best be described as an emotional drama which never fails to be a tear-jerker, regardless of how many times it has been watched before. With an exceptional music score by Ismail Darbar, the movie not only has a strong direction foundation, but also a very well-treated storyline.
The Plot::
The movie introduces its characters slowly, but consistantly. Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) is a confident, beautiful and soulful girl who is the heart of her family. Her father is a famous musician and dotes over his family members. The huge joint family is introduced to Sameer (Salman Khan), a student flown in from Italy to undergo training from Nandinis father.
Nandini and Sameer discover love for each other and steadily it forms into a yearning for marriage. Afraid of the consequences for their actions, the hide-and-seek from the strict father and unaware family members continue, until the day it comes out in the open.
Nandinis father asks Sameer to leave the household, never to return again or meet Nandini. Vanraj (Ajay Devgan) enters the scene as the innocent sensible man who falls in love with Nandini at first sight. Eventually, the arranged marriage between them takes place and Nandini compromises with her past for her future.
But her happiness doesnt belong with Vanraj. She has already given away her heart (the title of the movie) to someone else and yearns for him each day. What follows is the discovery of true love and the excellent portrayal of it.
The Cast::
For the first time, Salman Khan impresses with a decent performance. Aishwarya definitely steals the show as the confident young Nandini who transforms into the sensible mature woman. She emotes with excellence and her chemistry with both - Salman and Ajay is overwhelming. Ajay Devgan, as always does an incredible job. He brilliantly moulds himself as the subtle, modest lawyer who loves a woman, yet is willing to give up his own self for her happiness. He wins the audiences sympathy with the very first glance of him.
Scenes to Remember::
HDDCS is the one movie which has actually - I mean actually - made me cry, each time that Ive seen it. The most touching bit is when Nandini slices the skin of her arm with a knife - the same arm that Sameer kissed - when Sameer leaves the house. Also, immensely touching was when Nandini raises her arm to stop Sameer from leaving and he statues her. The tears keep flowing from her eyes.
Later in the movie, many instances between Vanraj and Nandini were very touching but the tear-jerking moment was when he imagines Nandini and Sameer running towards each other on the bridge.
The climax of the movie in itself is very touching and definitely makes one ponder over love. What is it really and how we misintepret it all the time. Love is highly under-rated, thats the message of the movie.
Music::
The music is par excellence. The placing of the music is even better. Just at the right moments the background score becomes haunting and the right heartwarming songs come. The best picturization has been perhaps the title track - when the real meaning of the title explains itself.
The picturizations of all songs have been very well chalked out and not a dull moment gets in your way. The songs push the story further and explain the situation to the audience.
Final Verdict::
HDDCS is a movie that makes you cry a lot, but it is not a depressing movie. It is a movie with a lot of sense. It makes you realize what love really is. The depth of how madly you can love someone, only to realize later that it wasnt really what love truly is. Bhansali has done wonders with his direction, frankly better than Devdas. The plot compliments the movie very well and the climax is the major highlight of the movie. See it one time to enjoy it, the second to understand it, the third to relish it and the fourth to learn from it...