Reviews

Last night (June 12, 2003) on Turner Classic Movies I had the good fortune to be able to watch Dil Chahta Hai. DCH is a film that portrays love so tenderly and innocently that it seems like a throwback to the classic Hollywood musicals of the forties, yet the visual and aural inventiveness in the movie leaves the viewer keenly aware that this is a contemporary creation. This happened to be my very first exposure to Bollywood filmmaking-in fact, I just happened to stumble upon the beginning of the film as I was channel surfing-but I was very impressed with the entire production. The writing is marvelous, as is the direction, the acting, and the cinematography. I also must say that I thoroughly enjoyed every musical number.

Dil Chahta Hai is a triumph for writer-director Farhan Akhtar. If you are looking for deep socio-political meaning in a film you won't find it here. This is just a movie about three young men, their friendship with each other, and their relationships with women. But unless you are hopelessly cynical, you will find this a very engaging and entertaining movie. This is a film that draws the viewer into the world of the characters on the screen, and when the movie ends, you don't want to leave. I think that Dil Chahta Hai is the kind of film that melts away cynicism and reminds us that sometimes the world is a wonderful place.

This film is noteworthy because of the unique, mysterious, and wonderful screen presence of Greta Garbo. She is thoroughly convincing as the vulnerable young woman at the beginning of the film, and as her character becomes more worldly but still vulnerable she remains convincing. Occasionally she might lapse into acting that would seem to the modern viewer to be overly dramatic, but overall she is brilliant. Clark Gable is okay, but the construction of the film from a plot standpoint left something to be desired. Some things needed to be explained better. This seems to be a common problem with many early sound films as most of the 1928-31 sound films that I have seen are at times disjointed, leaving the viewer wondering why something occurred. That said, I recommend this film because of Garbo.