The opening scene from the movie "Dil Se"

Mani Ratnam made his bollywood debut with Dil Se (from the heart), a love story set against the backdrop of insurgency in North East.  Another masterpiece from him on terrorism after Roja and Bombay. It won critical acclaim but failed at the box office in India, largely due to its unusual theme and the lead actress portraying a suicide bomber.

Many scenes from the movie stood out for me but one particular scene left a lasting impression - the opening scene of the movie. The movie starts off with a taxi (with shahrukh inside) approaching a police barricade. After the police check, the taxi drives away to the railway station. Shahrukh has to take the barrack valley express; the train is late and he decides to wait on the platform. It’s a cold and windy night. He wants to light a cigarette and calls out to a passenger who is sitting on the adjacent bench, “Bhaisahab, machis hai?”  The camera pans out at an angle such that we are asking for the matchstick ourselves. The other person remains silent. Shahrukh continues talking but there is still no response. The camera remains besides shahrukh and doesn’t take us to the next bench to see who the other person is. This camera technique makes you feel that you are a part of their conversation. While shahrukh is talking, a sudden gust of wind pushes him and at the same time, the shawl falls off the other person. To our surprise, it’s a woman, the lead actress – Manisha Koirala. Shahrukh looks at her and is at loss for words. 

The camera now starts bridging the gap and moves towards manisha, giving us a closer look. She looks fresh.  Her face is covered but there is a hint of smile in her closed eyes.  Now, the camera pans across to give the viewer, the feeling that they are with manisha and watching Shahrukh. Shahrukh walks towards her and again asks “aapke paas machis hai?” She doesn’t reply. There is no sound other than the howling of the wind, adding to the screenplay. Shahrukh is talking continuously. The scene is refreshingly different from the usual boy meets girl situations, I have seen in the past. Shahrukh’s charm is at work. A smile slowly spreads on manisha’s face and she covers her face again. She can’t resist looking at him. And, when he asks, “mai tumhare liye kya kar sakta hoon?” Her lips part and she quietly says, “Ek garam chai.” The camera doesn’t move. And there, standing beside manisha, we see shahrukh going away to get a cup of tea. As he gets to the tea stall, he hears the sound of the incoming engine. He is in a dilemma. Should he run to manisha as she might take the train or wait for the tea? He waits for the tea, takes it and runs back to the platform. He sees three men alighting the train, picking manisha’s baggage and boarding the train with her. One will notice similar conflicting emotions quite a few times in the movie - shahrukh will try to win her heart, she will avoid him, later she will surrender herself, then she will avoid him again and will go away.  Coming back to the scene, shahrukh watches her from the platform. Train leaves and manisha remains an unknown.

It is raining and the drops of water are falling into the tea making a tinkling sound. Shahrukh says almost to himself, “Duniya ki sabse choti prem kahani.” He drinks his tea and “Jinke sar ho ishq ki” starts in the background. The scene cuts to the train and the most famous song of the decade “Chal Chaiya Chaiya” begins, seamlessly transitioning from the opening scene.

This is one of the best openings, I have seen in movies. This scene gives a sneak peek into the storyline. If you watch the movie and come back to the scene, you will notice that this scene, in a way summarizes the movie. The police barricades signifies the tense situation. The protagonist tries to win the love of the actress. The actress, shrouded in mystery, runs through bouts of cyclical emotions – avoidance, liking and avoidance again. The howling of the wind suggests a stormy relationship. Was this scene a coincidence or intentional?