Audience Member
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam stars Aishwarya Rai as Nandini, the entitled, vivacious daughter of a royal musician who falls in love with one of her father's students, Sameer, played by Salman Khan. Sameer is a half-Indian, half-Italian mischievous playboy, who falls in love with Nandini. But Nandini's father, Pundit, has already arranged Nandini's marriage to the quiet and reserved lawyer Vanraj. Following their marriage, the honorable Vanraj takes Nandini to India to reunite with her lover, sacrificing his own happiness for hers. What follows is an epic love story spanning two countries, in which Nandini must decide between Sameer, who taught her how to love passionately, and Vanraj, who taught her to abide by promises of love. In a shocking twist ending, Nandini falls in love with her husband Vanraj, rejecting Sameer and choosing to spend her life with Vanraj.
This film is unlike any other Bollywood movie I've ever seen. Thematically, it is similar to DDLJ - the daughter of a traditionalist father falls in love with a Westernized lover even though she is already arranged to be married to someone her father approves of. But Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam flips this formula on its script - rather than reuniting with her lover, Nandini falls in love with her husband along the way, and chooses to stay with him instead. Rosie Thomas writes that "the good-evil opposition becomes subtly conflated with another set of ideas: good with associations of the traditional, that which is Indian; bad with those of the traditional and the 'non-Indian.'" In this film, like in DDLJ, it is not the Westernized lover himself who disrupts the moral universe, but rather the overbearing father who rejects his daughter's wishes. However, this film takes that formula one step further by presenting Nandini with choosing between "good" and "bad" types of love. The "good" love is actually found with her "ideally traditional" (in the eyes of Nandini's father) husband, Vanraj, who loves her selflessly and respectfully. The "bad" love is found with the half-Indian, half-Italian Westernized Sameer, the lover, for their love is passionate, but it is also selfish, almost as if Nandini and Sameer are loving themselves through each other. Nandini and Vanraj grow to truly love each other, however this film does not provide a commentary on the father always being "right," or arranged marriages always being "right." Rather, within the framework of choosing between her arranged marriage husband and her lover, Nandini achieves greater agency, and in a rare twist on the typical Bollywood script, her character develops and comes more truly into her own through her search for Sameer, as shown through Aishwarya Rai's phenomenal performance. Appropriate for its time period (1999, when the Bollywood film industry was in a time of flux), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam interrogates what true love is, and rights the moral universe through the female protagonist figuring out what she truly wants in life and expressing her agency over who she chooses to be with; in choosing the "right" love, Nandini herself rights the moral universe.
One thing I did not enjoy about this film was Salman Khan's performance, as I found his acting to be completely overdone. However, he was balanced by Aishwarya Rai's range as well as Ajay Devgan's subtlety, which allowed his character to come to be the one we root against. I loved the costuming and the vibrant colors of the film - visually, it was stunning. I also enjoyed the different take on music that I saw in this film - there were rap and rock and roll influences in the music, and most of the songs were voiceover style as opposed to the traditional playback. I also really loved the message of female agency, with Nandini coming full circle as her free-spirited self in choosing to be with Vanraj. Ultimately, this film stands in my mind as a modern take on the classic Bollywood romance, and one that I truly believe should be a part of any academic study of Bollywood cinema, as well as a must-see for all Bollywood fans!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/09/23
Full Review
Audience Member
5 Stars - Rotten Tomatoes
Yair Koas
An excellent film - one that captures all the elements of Bollywood, and then twists and turns them around to surprise and entertain the viewer. The film tells the story of Nandini, who falls in love with Sameer, a confident man who is staying at their house to study classical music. Nandini, however, is arranged to wed Vanraj, which prevents her from being with her lover. Vanraj, now Nandini's husband, agrees to help her find Sameer, so they travel to Italy (where Sameer lives) to find him. It is specifically this unique storyline, the music (classical and modern), the scenery (desert, Italy, etc.,) and the playing with traditional Bollywood film tropes that create a fun and unique viewing experience.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is definitely similar to the 1995 classic Bollywood film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), as the type of playful romance that Sameer and Nandini have is comparable to that of Raj and Simran - but only to that of Raj and Simran in the first part of the film. The difference is that Raj and Simran eventually are able to mature their love once Raj agrees to go to India - and without giving anything away - Sameer and Nandini have difficulties with moving beyond that stage. Tejaswini Ganti writes in their novel Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema, that the traditional love story found in Bollywood films is that in which a "character is torn between someone s/he loves and someone s/he is obliged to marry" (40). The joy in watching a film like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, is that the audience enters the film expecting the traditional love story, explained by Ganti, but instead are treated to a twist on what is expected. It is this intentional playing with the elements found within Bollywood cinema that truly make Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam a one-of-a-kind movie worth watching again and again!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/14/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A stunning movie. A classic love triangle with lots of drama. But I felt that Ajay Devgn should have played Sameer. Feel for Salman Khan as he was left by Aishwarya rai. Sanjay Leela bhansalis best till date for me
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
watched it long time ago ..
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/11/23
Full Review
Audience Member
If you are looking for a BOLLYWOOD movie- with song and dance- Watch this one.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Didn't know Budapest was in Italy, where everything is written and said in Hungarian, and where Gipsy East-European music is played and danced in pubs... but "kuchh nai hai" :)
Otherwise, lovely story, great music and a good lighting around the duties conveyed by love. And Aishwarya is stunning as usual.
Oh, yeah, and the scene when Aishwarya Rai catches Salman Khan unaware farting loudly is just legendary... !
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/23/23
Full Review
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