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The heart has its reasons

Sharmila Taliculam

Dil Kya Kare was an eagerly-awaited film for several reasons. Kajol and Ajay Devgan were acting together in a film, for the first time after marriage, along with Mahima Choudhary. Not to mention the fact that the story and direction was Prakash Jha's who has earlier given us films like Hip Hip Hurray, Damul and Mrityudand.

But one can’t help being disappointed after seeing the film. You wonder why Jha made such a film, or rather what made him treat this film in such a manner.

Anyway, this is how the story goes. Anand (Ajay Devgan) and Kavita (Mahima Choudhary) are married, with an adopted daughter Neha, (Akshita Garud) whom they dote on. They can’t bear to see the child cry, they hang on to every word of hers like they have got nothing better to do.

Their whole life revolves around this child and you sort of get the message that this is not going to last. That something disastrous is waiting to happen.

And it happens. Kavita finds out that a nice aunt is visiting Neha. She gives her toys and plays with her. We assume that the good aunt, never for a moment, realised that she would be caught doing that and there would be questions to be answered later.

To come back to the story, Kavita catches on and finds out that Nandita Rai (Kajol), the good aunt, is actually the mother of the child. So far so good. You think this is the end of the story. But it's not. She meets Anand and realisation dawns. Now the story begins.

This is Jha's attempt at going completely commercial once again, but it fails, like his former commercial venture, Bandish. He has written the story, edited the film and directed it. There is nothing wrong with the story, but the direction leaves a lot to be desired for.

The acting is loud and dramatic, and the dialogues lack punch. The whole happy family scene gets on your nerves at times. Especially when you see the husband -- an ever-loving man who doesn't suspect his wife of anything, even though she orders her admirer around.

Chandrachud Singh as the admirer (Somu) is wasted in a role which could have been played by any average actor. All he has to do is being ordered around by Mahima -- as if he has nothing better to do -- apart from reciting poems and giving hints to Mahima about his love for her. He fancies himself to be a Casanova whom the girls drool over, and sports long kurtas and shawls.

Mahima Choudhary, as the hip and hyper woman is alright. She looks nice, but speaks with an accent which becomes pronounced when she has to scream out her dialogues. Though most of the time she does that in the film, and cries a lot too, she is still bearable.

Ajay Devgan seriously needs a change of image once again. His role of the sacrificial and harried hero is getting stereotyped. There is nothing new to say about him in this film. If anything, he looks quite lost.

The less said about the child the better. Jha has tried to make her cute by giving her dialogues, which an adult would otherwise say, and then he has made her act in a theatrical manner. But she ends up irritating you with her constant demands and her brattish behaviour in the film.

The only person who gives her role a semblance of sanity is Kajol. She is expressive and despite a film, which won’t do much for her, gives it her best shot.

In fact the only scenes from the film which stand out are the ones that have Kajol in them. She lends substance to her character and balances her role of the 'other woman' quite well.

The music of Dil Kya Kare is good. There are about five or six songs, of which three are certainly going to do well.

It's true that a commercial film doesn't make sense most of the times. But considering this is a Prakash Jha film, one hoped it would make sense. But then, we suppose, good directors also have to cater to commercial demands.

Throughout the film, one gets the feeling that Jha’s heart wasn’t in this film. It could have been a good film, if it had been treated properly. But all we can say is that it remains a disappointment.