Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani
Director: Aziz Mirza
Music: Jatin Lalit; Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Year: 2000
Running Time: 150 minutes
As one quickly learns after watching only a
few Bollywood films, the way an Indian film begins is rarely how it ends.
Films often go through a mind-bending array of emotions and moods and often
veer wildly between comedy and melodrama with the viewer often thrown for
a loop. Films that have all these elements plus action and musical numbers
are generally stuck with the term “masala” around their necks – meaning
a little bit of everything is thrown into the pot and stirred with reckless
abandon. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Here it sort of works, but not as well as it could
have as the sudden turn into serious melodrama never reaches the delightful
heights of the first sparkling hour. This is an instance in which one really
wishes the filmmakers had stuck with the insouciant mood and bright comedy
for the entirety of the story and left the melodrama on the editing floor.
Wrapped around a rivalry/romance between two TV journalists, the film sardonically
skewers the mass media, political parties, the justice system and corporate
sponsorship. Rarely subtle – an executioner stopping to promote a product
on his way to perform his work on the gallows – it nevertheless hits its
targets with mud splattered relish. Photographed in bright MTV colors by
Santosh Sivan (Dil Se), the film’s palette is lush and lively and constantly
entertaining.
The viewer is immediately immersed into the initial
fun vibes of the film during the opening credits which play over a splashy
video of Shahrukh Khan simply acting up to the incredible catchy title
song. I found myself stopping the DVD and replaying the song some five
times before even getting to the film itself! It also bounced around in
my head for days afterwards like a red rubber ball. Shahrukh is the star
reporter for K-TV and more full of himself than an overstuffed piñata.
His self absorption reaches pure giddy art form when he and the entire
newsroom staff (and his boss, Satish Shah) break into the wonderful “I’m
the Best” number that has Shahrukh being idolized by one and all, pawed
by multitudes of fawning beautiful female extras and doing a fabulous Elvis
impersonation. It is a tour de force of comic ego from Shahrukh and I ended
up having to play this song a number of times as well before I could go
on!
Across town the rival owner (Dalip Tahil) of Galaxee
TV hires Juhi Chawla and gives her marching orders to depose Shahrukh as
the king of TV news. They meet and send off sparks immediately and do their
best to out do one another by any means they can. Juhi sidetracks Shahrukh
with a host of ex-jilted-girlfriends while she out scoops him on a story
that sends the head of the ruling political party (Govind Namdeo) into
a tizzy. The film paints a very sleazy picture of the very under the table
relationship between the media and politicians. After her big story, Juhi
bangs out her own energetic version of “I’m the Best” which is a treat
as well. The two of them joust in work and love until they band together
over the fate of a man.
A politician is assassinated and the killer (Paresh
Rawal) is immediately branded as a foreign terrorist and sentenced to die,
but the real story falls into their laps and they surprise themselves by
honorably and dangerously pushing for the truth against the wishes of all
the powers that be. Much of this part of the film falls a bit flat - at
least in comparison to the first half of the film, but as corny as it is
the second playing of the title song with the populace filling the streets
in protest has a certain awkward Capraesque pleasure. Johnny Lever performs
his usual out of place shenanigans as a wanne be Don and Shakti Kapoor
plays the odious rival politician.
The music for the film is fairly good with Phi
Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani being a real charmer that will have you on your
feet and doing some sort of bad Hindi dance moves – but what really sets
them apart are the very clever and enjoyable visuals – or picturizing –
of the songs. Both Shahrukh and Juhi look to be having an enormously good
time in the songs and they play off one another to good effect.
My rating for this film: 7.0
Song
1
Song
2
Song
3