Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin (1991) Review :-

Another Easy and Extended remake proved once and for all that 'It Happened One Night' is mightier than all Rom-coms. Generally, most of the movie buffs have seen the original Hollywood classic and even in India it has found good number of fans. When it comes to the remake of the film after 6 decades one genuinely think about it's timeless script and writting but there are several other factors which makes film an unforgettable classic. Because you always copy something which is really amazing, you don't copy an ordinary film. It Happened One Night was remade many times but Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin came in 90s when Modern Bollywood audience was just ready to accept a brilliant rom-com. But after 6 decades you know lot of water flowed under the bridge and film techniques increased almost at thier best level. It hurts when you fail to make a Classic film after so many advantages but here, the case is closed even before the verdict because It Happened One Night is unmatchable forever.

Now let's talk about what's similar here and what's different. Like I stated, Dil Hai Manta Nahin is an extended remake that means it adds little bit more than the original. It tries to make it more funny but ultimately causes the humour look cheap. Especially, it has certain goofs in pivotal characters, take Pooja's father character for instance. A millionaire with such cheap wit doesn't make it look good at all. Even the leading character of the film is no different to the formality of goofs. Couple of side role characters seems useless after one point. It isn't just about the characters but several changes made in the script also behave like loopholes. The narrative is about 155 minutes long when the soul of the story was too small to explore in this much time. Most of the screentime is covered by songs when it could have been trimmed. It can't be called Flaws but definitely slows down the pace of the film which is harmful in repeat watch. It Happened One Night was made in tight runtime of 105 minutes, i don't know which part to skip even if i am watching it for the 50th time. But Hollywood doesn't run on songs and Bollywood film cannot walk without songs especially in Rom-com genre.

Musically, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin is on upper side. Almost all songs are good and even the worst one is decent making it one of the finest music album of 1991. Two-three Songs are brilliant and if i have to name my personal favourites then "Mainu Ishq Da Lagya Rog", "Adaye Bhi Hai" and "Title Song" would be in the list. Nadeem-Shravan were Kings of Music in 90s and this one is another fine piece of work from them. Chori Chori released in 1956 too had a great Music Album and this one is definitely somewhere close to it.

Aamir Khan makes a decent news reporter as Raghu but like i said goofs in his character's writing didn't let him pull off everything. However, this one was fairly good enough for him in early 90s. Pooja Bhatt as spoilt heiress Pooja is close to awesomeness, especially in couple of emotional scenes but she could have been more wild and outrageous. Supporting cast is barely okay as most of them were trapped for pulling cheap humour. Mahesh Bhatt delivers a good rom-com but seriously, is it enough when you're remaking a timeless film? He copied everything from the original, he added something of his own yet failed to deliver a Classic. It clearly shows that Bollywood is 60 years behind Hollywood and still chasing the same stuff despite advanced filmmaking. Mahesh Bhatt is not the name which comes in my favourite directors list. He's good but not great hence i feel this film would have became much better with some other director or else it could have never been made because no other director would have chose to remake such an iconic film. It's a big burden after all therefore entire team deserves kudos for thier attempt. Chori Chori was slightly lower than It Happened One Night because it couldn't brought glamour as our audience wasn't ready for it in 50s. Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi is slightly lower than Chori Chori and i think verdict is sealed here, though it can be very much likeable film for fresh audience who hasn't seen those 2 earlier films. The film has been overlooked by 90s audience but today it deserves to be watched at least once. This review might look pretty negative but believe me it isn't and my final rating would be appropriately enough, it is just that i am huge huge fan of It Happened One Night and nothing can ever beat that film.

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest

Pooja Dharamchand (Pooja Bhatt) is the daughter of a rich Mumbai shipping tycoon, Seth Dharamchand (Anupam Kher). She is head-over-heels in love with movie star Deepak Kumar (Sameer Chitre),but her father strongly disapproves of their courtship. One night, Pooja escapes from her father's yacht and hops onto a bus to Bangalore to be with Deepak, who is shooting for a film there. Meanwhile, Seth Dharamchand, realizing his daughter has run away, dispatches private detectives to locate her.

Aboard the bus, Pooja meets Raghu Jetley (Aamir Khan),a loud-mouth journalist who has just lost his job. He offers to help her in exchange for an exclusive story on her, which would revive his flagging career. Pooja is forced to agree to his demands, as he threatens to let her father know of her whereabouts should she not comply. After both of them happen to miss the bus , Raghu and Pooja go through various adventures together and find themselves falling in love with one another.

From tackling grim and mature subjects like Arth (1982),Janam (1985) and Naam (1986) in the 80s, Mahesh Bhatt moved on to more commercial cinema in the 90s. Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin was a musical romcom starring Aamir Khan, Pooja Bhatt and Anupam Kher.

Loosely inspired from 'It Happened One Night' (1934),Bhatt Saahab was clever enough to indianise the plot for his audience through a lovely soundtrack (Nadeem Shravan in full form) and presenting a fresh young pair - Aamir and Pooja - who sadly never teamed up again.

Pooja played a richie rich heiress on the run from her eccentric father (Anupam Kher) while Aamir Khan was Raghu Jaitley, a street smart journo, who strikes a deal to help her out in return for her exclusive story. The film also had elements of 'road movie genre' which was not quite common in Bollywood those days.

Aamir and Pooja rocked as a pair and this film certainly ranks amongst Pooja's top three performances - the other two being Daddy (1990) and Sadak (1991).

I watched the film in its first weekend at Gaiety Galaxy, Bandra and then multiple times on VHS. The melodious numbers, Aamir Pooja's super cool chemistry and the hilarious climax is still etched in my mind. Do give it a try if you still haven't seen it.