Dil Se
Some people are like the Sand; a wind blows them away—Meghna
Amar Varma, an Indian Journalist and a Jerk with a Heart of Gold investigates a terrorist group in a troubled part of North-Eastern India aflame with insurgency and meets a Troubled but Cute girl with a Dark and Troubled Past named Meghna at a railway station. He falls in love with her and is persistent in chasing her even after her repeated rebuffs. Two men who travelled with her beat him down senseless though that makes him become obsessively enamored of her. The two get stranded after their bus breaks down and they slowly start to fall in love. Meghna leaves him one night and is not heard of again. She visits him in Delhi, however, when she hears about his engagement with Preeti. When she comes to Delhi, Amar discovers that Meghna is a Broken Bird who is part of a Terrorist Group planning on carrying a suicide attack on the Prime Minister.
Dil Se is the third movie of Mani Ratnam's trilogy that deals with India's War on Terror, Culture Clash and its concerns on terrorism and domestic instability. In contrast to the first two movies of his trilogy, it is first and foremost a love story. It is known mostly for fantastic songs from A.R. Rahman, including Chaiya Chaiya and features an Anvilicious number of Tropes.
- Arranged Marriage: Amar Varma planned to wed sweetheart Preeti.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: The whole premise of Dil Se.
- Bare Your Midriff: Malaika Arora in Chaiya Chaiya
- Preity Zinta in the song Jiya Jale AND Manisha Koirala in Satrangi Re
- Betty and Veronica: Part of all Shah Rukh Khan films. Amar had to choose between Preeti (Betty) and the beautiful and dangerous Meghna (Veronica).
- Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: And How!
- Dancing on a Bus: "Chaiyya Chaiyya"
- The Danza: Preity is played by Preity Zinta
- Dark and Troubled Past: Meghna. She is implied to have been raped by some Indian soldiers as an adolescent
- Dogged Nice Guy: Amar to Meghna
- Downer Ending: Amar figures out Meghna's purpose and tries to stop her. He is almost dead (beaten to such a pulp) but he tracks her down. She wears a suicide vest that explodes at contact with another human being. He embraces her and both die, engulfed in flames.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in Malayali: Used in the below-mentioned song.
- G-Rated Sex: The very Freudian "Jiya Jale" dream sequence.
- Gray and Gray Morality: As it is a Mani Ratnam Film, this is to be expected.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Meghna when she attends Amar's engagement. But he is not willing to let her go.
- Informed Deformity: Meghna is said to have small eyes and high cheekbones by Amar. Manisha Koirala, while Nepalese, does not have small eyes, except by perhaps a stringent Indian criteria.
- Instant Knots: in the song and dance number, Satrangi Re, Amar throws out his long black scarf, which whips around the waist of Meghna so he can reel her in. Awesome coolness.
- Love Hurts: And sometimes kills.
- Love Makes You Crazy: And how.
- Love Redeems: Subverted.
- Meaningful Name: Meghna means "storm". Amar means "eternal". "Pretty" sounds like Preity, the actress who plays the part.
- Naked First Impression: Megha bathes with the door open.
- Shout-Out: Item number "Chaiya Chaiya" is based off an Urdu poem, and even the lyric "Her words are like Urdu poetry" is a reference to this
- Slap Slap Kiss: Amar and Meghna in the first half of the movie
- Stalker with a Crush: Amar
- Item number: Chaiyaa Chaiya where the protagonist dances on a moving train with excellent cinematography.
- The Promise: When her comrade senses Meghna go soft after she attended Amar's engagement party, Meghna is asked to recite her pledge to rededicate her life to avenge her family.
- Race For Your Love: Amar keeps chasing Meghna all over India.
- Rescue Romance: Subverted. Amar wants to rescue Meghna but she does not want to be rescued. Pursuing her destroys them both.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Amar and Meghna
- Together in Death
- Victim Falls For Rapist: Amar aggressively...uhm... assaults her (or tries to kiss her, if you are more charitable) when he is alone with Meghna in the desert. She gets an anxiety attack as she rebuffs him.
- White Shirt of Death: featured in one of the song and dance numbers.
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: The terrorists/insurgents are shown ambiguously. On the one hand, they are shown to have legitimate grievances. On the other hand, they use violence and suicidal methods that harm themselves and people around them.
