Review of Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar

Introduction

Before I go into this detailed review I should mention that I will be revealing certain spoliers within this introduction section. If you want to avoid this then go straight to the DVD review.

This is perhaps one the best movies of 2000, being both entertaining and intellectually stimulating. The films plot might sound depressing but don`t be fooled by this as the film has moments of clever humour, which are masterful and funny. The film opens in a very honest way into looking at the everyday life of how people live in Mumbai. After this we are introduced, very optimistically, to the characters of the film. However as we get to know the characters more we learn that each has a dark side which Ram Saran doesn`t understand.

First we see Gaitonde as the best friend of Ram Saran, but by the end of the film we see his other side that shows us that best friends are not to be trusted. His wife Gayatri is first shown as the stereotyped, servile Indian housewife and her fights with her husband seem rather common. Also with the intervention of Gaitonde`s friend Tito, the peacemaker of the husband and wife, one would assume that everything is normal within the conventions of Hindi cinema. But later it`s revealed that Tito is sleeping with Gayatri and the two are planning to fool Gaitonde, steal his money and then elope away from him.

Finally the character of Kaamya is seen at first as an honest news reporter looking for truth and complaining about the world she lives in. But later on we see her as just another glory hunter, using Ram Saran to gain fame and fortune, thus becoming part of the world she complains about. Here the characters are seen as lovable and hatable at the same time and this shows the great characterisation penned by the screenwriter, Saurabh Shukla, after his great screenplay Satya (1998).

The film shows these characters as desperate people, in a low state of life and how we come across situations during times of desperation in which our choices are made. This doesn`t mean to say that life is sad, otherwise how would people develop a sense of humour? Instead the film accepts life as it is and that`s what makes this film great to watch. It doesn`t abuse the audiences intelligence as most Indian films seem to do.

The film also handles the character interaction with other characters very realistically and this is clearly due to the fine performances of the cast. They are talented and a marvel to watch as much as the excellent direction and screenplay. The interaction is broken down and when doing so, the film asks the question of the characters, and the audience, about the morals that form our society. This part of the film forms the thought provoking aspects that places this film on a higher plane.

These are some of the most interesting characters ever seen in an Indian film as we see both sides of them and understand the predicament they`re in. Whether we feel sorry for them or we hate them for it, we actually care what happens to them particularly to Ram Saran and his friend Gaitonde, but we know that life isn`t as forgiving and knowing this we know they`ll suffer.

The character of Ram Saran is particularly interesting. His beliefs on life are that of honesty and truth seeking, believing that truth will always win. But Ram Saran goes into depression when a few bad things go wrong for him, believing that his world has destroyed his only refuge and to start again means to go to Dubai. The character always justifies his actions to a clever effect using statements like "If I am true and that always wins then I can use any means I need in order to win". But my favourite line in this film is when he states that "People aren`t bad, their time is bad". Maybe this explains the action he takes within this film. One can argue that one rejection from a woman can`t make a man murder for money and move to another country. However my argument is that humans are unpredictable beings and their actions aren`t always justifiable. Maybe this film works on that basis - greed is human`s weakness after all.

Manoj Bajpai as Ram Saran is an amazing actor and really shines in this film from start to finish. He performs all kinds of emotions that are humanistic and very real to the eyes. Manoj Bajpai brings the character of Ram Saran to life on the screen and in our hearts. Saurabh Shukla is equally brilliant in his performance as Gaitonde, walking the thin line between honesty and betrayal as real as one can. The rest of the cast is just as good in giving us a high perspective of the film with the help of the screenplay.

I should mention the end of the film, which in my opinion is the most controversial part of the movie. We learn after Ram Saran has killed that he and Gaitonde move to Dubai, but the scene of them in Dubai is very dream-like. The shots used here contain vibrant and colourful imagery. It is during this scene that we see Ram Saran becoming a big don/gangster who has neither fear nor the innocence that we once saw in him at the start of the film. Yet during Kaamya`s Filmfare acceptance speech she states that Ram Saran and Gaitonde live happily ever after.

Could this complex scene suggest that the ending is in fact the one written by Kaamya for the film? Or is it the real ending for Ram Saran & Gaitonde? While it sounds confusing here, on screen it shows the cleverness of the director and screenplay that allows the audience to decide if the ending is from the fictional film or if it is really happening. - A very nice contrast indeed.

Hansal Mehta has directed a fabulous film and the way he handles the dramatics and comedy, and how these weave into each other, is an example of his understanding of this format. The songs might not be chartbusting, but they play into the narrative of the film and are quite melodious. The background score, by Raju Singh, is average and could be one point of the film that needs improving. This film has so much to offer to the audience which makes it particularly impressive and one of the best this year along side Hera Pheri (2000) and Astitva (2000).

Video

The DVD is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, as per the director`s original vision. The picture is transferred in anamorphic so 33% of picture quality is retained for widescreen television users when the picture is placed in full mode. This is an advantage for the product as picture quality is better then the usual letterbox viewing, and we get to see how the film was original shot for the big screen.

Signs of small compressed artefacts and of grain are present on this DVD, but they don`t really intrude on viewing while picture information for the majority of time adds comfort and clarity to this DVD. The picture has a noticeable amount of wear and tear that comes into place, displaying signs of dust spots, blemishes, lines and other damage to the 35mm print. I was quite surprise to see these white and black lines present as badly as they were on this DVD as the film was very new and had only just been released in the cinema weeks before.

It would have been nice if Eros cleaned the print up or if they could have used an original print negative in the India Adlabs studio where the processing took place. It could be that Eros had no time to clean up the 35mm print used as the DVD was released very quickly in order to beat the piracy market that is heavily present. This obviously affects the market who want quality.

Still while there was wear and tear, the picture quality slightly detailed while level of sharpness was satisfactory when tested on a projection system. On a normal television the level of detail is handled okay and the DVD displayed reasonable picture information. There is some very light shimmering but this never affected viewing while moiré effects were rarely seen to be present on this disc. There were signs of edge enhancement which added some harshness feel to the overall picture.

The colour fidelity is very well placed on this DVD as the colour saturation had moments of bold colours (see chapter 24). The film also uses grim colours to depict the city of Mumbai and this is presented here with no signs of colours bleeding. Visual information in the darkest scenes was hard to view, while contrast details were just avarage.

Audio

The sound on this disc is presented in a Dolby Digital 4ch mono soundtrack converted from a Dolby Digital EX track and is a major disappointment. While Eros does warn us that the DVD is Dolby Digital 4ch on the back of the box, it is not the original intention of the director.

The 4.1 mono sound has very mono properties in all channels. While the front speakers were active and clear, the rear was very quiet and low dialogue could be detected giving a sense of a psuedo surround in the room. Still the sound effects and dialogue are very clear to understand, but knowing that a 6.1 track could have been made for the DVD was the reason why I was so disappointed.

On a side note it is possible to do 6.1 on DVD as many American DVDs have done so successfully and is on the increase with many titles like American Beauty (1999), Gladiator (2000), Chicken Run (2000) and even Terminator 2 (1992). Even a 5.1 track would have been an improvement over this 4.1 mono track. This did cause concern, as Eros previous DVD title Shikari (2000) has the same problem as this disc.

Features

The DVD includes the option of having English subtitles. The subtitles are clear but are very hard to follow, as the timings of them are too fast or slow. The main menus consist of clips and the soundtrack of the film being looped. They are thematically designed, and have easy navigation.

Conclusion

Quite a disapointing disc for an excellent film. The disc has avarage picture and poor sound quality. Once again EROS has let the DVD consumers down. Its one you should rent just for the film itself.