Dil Se and its 7 stages of love
Not a typical movie review....
“Dil To Aakhir Dil Hai Na, meethi Si Mushkil Hai Na Piyaa re piyaa." I vividly recall hearing this line and being completely enthralled, as it perfectly captured the emotions I experienced as a 17-year-old. That's when I discovered the incredible movie, Dil Se.
In a world of fast paced rom coms Dil Se surprised me. I couldn't comprehend the unique love story it portrayed, where the two main characters never meet until the end, and their meeting ultimately leads to death.
Yet, I was utterly captivated by the passion of Meghana and Amar. Meghana's dedication to her mission, which overshadowed her personal desires, and Amar's devotion to Meghana, which even surpassed his own career.
As an 18-year-old, just beginning to experience love, it was an entirely foreign and captivating experience watching the movie Then, at the age of 22, I stumbled upon these lines: "Mujhe maut ki god mein sone de, Teri rooh mein jism dubone de." I came across them in an Instagram reel, which led me down a rabbit hole of listening to the song "Satrangi Re" repeatedly.
It was then that I realized that Dil Se was crafted in the same format as a Sufi love story. It commenced with Dilkashi (Attraction) and culminated in Maut (Death). I revisited the movie with this newfound perspective. Upon watching it again, Dil Se became an entirely different experience for me. It felt as though I was reliving my favorite movie through the lens of Sufis.
For instance, the moment when Meghana's blanket blows off at the train station, and Amar becomes instantly attracted to her, perfectly represented the first stage of love, Dilkashi. The final scene, where he embraces her and embraces death (Maut), exemplifies their journey through the seven stages of love. In this way I got to experience dil se first time for twice in my 5 years, and I hope I get to watch it again in a new way again because as the song says Hawa pe dhoondho uske nishaan. Saare ishq ki chaaon chal chaiyya chaiyya I will keep revising this again and again and if not love I can atleast feel the love through this film.
I have written this for a competition in Film Companion, where they have given us a topic to write about film you wanted experience first time again