There’s a scene in Dil that disturbs me. A lot. Madhu
(Madhuri Dixit) and Raja (Aamir Khan) hated each other at first sight,
and have engaged in a rapidly escalating war of pranks which went beyond
the pale when Madhu tricked Raja into entering her hotel room, and
promptly accused him of trying to rape her. Raja was thrown out of
college on the spot, and he returns in the middle of the night, drags
Madhu from her bed, and takes her to a nearby barn. “I’m going to show
you what rape is,” he tells her, and proceeds to hunt her with
slasher-flick efficiency. Finally, Madhu is cornered. Raja repeats his
threat, then tells her about what happens to someone, emotionally and
socially, after a rape. “That’s what you did to me,” he says, then,
seeing that Madhu is shivering, he gives her his coat and leaves.
I knew going in that there was no way Raja would actually rape anyone; he is the hero, after all, and in the Bollywood universe, a Fate Worse Than Death is a real threat. And the horror-movie style cinematography in the scene is completely overdone. But it’s a brutal scene, made all the more brutal by the quality of the acting; Khan is rightfully called the finest actor in Bollywood, after all, and while Dixit doesn’t quite have his range, she’s an impressive actress as well.
And I’m not sure what to think about the scene. Dragging a woman from her bed, threatening to rape her, and chasing her around a deserted barn certainly isn’t a good thing to do, by any stretch of the imagination. And yet when he accuses Madhu of trivializing the suffering of actual rape victims, he’s completely correct. For that matter, Madhu crying rape was completely over the top; the prank she was retaliating for involved Raja switching the signs on the public bathrooms, which hardly merits destroying his life. Ironically, while the scene hangs over the rest of the movie, it really has very little to do with the plot; it leads to a cessation of hostilities, but another device could easily be found.
Since I have no easy conclusion, I’ll talk about the rest of the movie. Raja’s father (Anupam Kher) is a miser, obsessed with the notion of marrying his son into a wealthy family. He even tells the father of a potential bride as much, in a speech that only lacks a hearty “Mwa ha ha.” Raja, meanwhile, is a spoiled playboy, more interested in partying with his friends. Raja and Madhu meet when she drives past him and splashes him with mud, leading up to the aforementioned war of practical jokes; much of this war is played out with a rockabilly soundtrack (including rockabilly sitars!) and Madhu really plays dirty, goading Raja into a fight with Shakti, the school karate champ.
The Shakti fight is disturbing on a completely different level; the winner gets to publicly kiss Madhu, but the loser has to kiss her friend Lilly. This leads to “Make fun of the fat girl” “humor”; both combatants are driven to desperate lengths in order to avoid having to kiss Lilly. Raja finally wins, then publicly refuses to kiss Madhu, ramping the conflict up yet another notch.
Meanwhile, Raja’s dad has spotted a potential in-law (Saeed Jaffry) He goes to great lengths, even hiring actiors, in order to establish himself as a man of wealth, befriends him, and at last finagles a marriage offer. But when he drags Raja to meet the future bride, Raja discovers that it’s Madhu! The pair declare their mutual dislike, and each refuse to marry the other. The fathers are crushed.
Then comes a college class trip, and the aforementioned near rape scene. After Madhu comes clean, this leads to a cessation of hostilities, which comes as a relief; up until this point, both Madhu and Raja come across as really unpleasant people, but when they start acting like human beings they become quite likeable. The marriage is finally arranged, but at the wedding party, Madhu’s father discovers just how much Raja’s father has lied. There’s a public humiliation, vows of revenge, and then the lovers are separated.
The pair can’t stay away from each other, but their fathers’ feud makes things difficult. In the end, the pair are forced to . . . well, not elope, exactly. Raja takes matters into his own hands in a wonderful scene. But this being Bollywood, marrying without parental approval, no matter how justified, leads to suffering and eventual reconciliation all around.
Aamir Khan has either aged well, or he youthed badly; this movie was made 14 years ago, and he hasn’t really visibly aged since then. Madhuri hadn’t developed into the classic Indian beuty she’s later become in this film, but she has her moments. Both the leads put in fine performances here, as do the actors playing their respective fathers.
Dil created many of the “poor boy/rich girl” cliches. It’s an odd dish of masala; low comedy, heavy melodrama, and hovering above it all, that scene. I still don’t quite know what to think.
I knew going in that there was no way Raja would actually rape anyone; he is the hero, after all, and in the Bollywood universe, a Fate Worse Than Death is a real threat. And the horror-movie style cinematography in the scene is completely overdone. But it’s a brutal scene, made all the more brutal by the quality of the acting; Khan is rightfully called the finest actor in Bollywood, after all, and while Dixit doesn’t quite have his range, she’s an impressive actress as well.
And I’m not sure what to think about the scene. Dragging a woman from her bed, threatening to rape her, and chasing her around a deserted barn certainly isn’t a good thing to do, by any stretch of the imagination. And yet when he accuses Madhu of trivializing the suffering of actual rape victims, he’s completely correct. For that matter, Madhu crying rape was completely over the top; the prank she was retaliating for involved Raja switching the signs on the public bathrooms, which hardly merits destroying his life. Ironically, while the scene hangs over the rest of the movie, it really has very little to do with the plot; it leads to a cessation of hostilities, but another device could easily be found.
Since I have no easy conclusion, I’ll talk about the rest of the movie. Raja’s father (Anupam Kher) is a miser, obsessed with the notion of marrying his son into a wealthy family. He even tells the father of a potential bride as much, in a speech that only lacks a hearty “Mwa ha ha.” Raja, meanwhile, is a spoiled playboy, more interested in partying with his friends. Raja and Madhu meet when she drives past him and splashes him with mud, leading up to the aforementioned war of practical jokes; much of this war is played out with a rockabilly soundtrack (including rockabilly sitars!) and Madhu really plays dirty, goading Raja into a fight with Shakti, the school karate champ.
The Shakti fight is disturbing on a completely different level; the winner gets to publicly kiss Madhu, but the loser has to kiss her friend Lilly. This leads to “Make fun of the fat girl” “humor”; both combatants are driven to desperate lengths in order to avoid having to kiss Lilly. Raja finally wins, then publicly refuses to kiss Madhu, ramping the conflict up yet another notch.
Meanwhile, Raja’s dad has spotted a potential in-law (Saeed Jaffry) He goes to great lengths, even hiring actiors, in order to establish himself as a man of wealth, befriends him, and at last finagles a marriage offer. But when he drags Raja to meet the future bride, Raja discovers that it’s Madhu! The pair declare their mutual dislike, and each refuse to marry the other. The fathers are crushed.
Then comes a college class trip, and the aforementioned near rape scene. After Madhu comes clean, this leads to a cessation of hostilities, which comes as a relief; up until this point, both Madhu and Raja come across as really unpleasant people, but when they start acting like human beings they become quite likeable. The marriage is finally arranged, but at the wedding party, Madhu’s father discovers just how much Raja’s father has lied. There’s a public humiliation, vows of revenge, and then the lovers are separated.
The pair can’t stay away from each other, but their fathers’ feud makes things difficult. In the end, the pair are forced to . . . well, not elope, exactly. Raja takes matters into his own hands in a wonderful scene. But this being Bollywood, marrying without parental approval, no matter how justified, leads to suffering and eventual reconciliation all around.
Aamir Khan has either aged well, or he youthed badly; this movie was made 14 years ago, and he hasn’t really visibly aged since then. Madhuri hadn’t developed into the classic Indian beuty she’s later become in this film, but she has her moments. Both the leads put in fine performances here, as do the actors playing their respective fathers.
Dil created many of the “poor boy/rich girl” cliches. It’s an odd dish of masala; low comedy, heavy melodrama, and hovering above it all, that scene. I still don’t quite know what to think.
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