Dilip Kumar benchmarks the ANTI-HERO!. Review on Dil Diya Dard Liya

The anti-hero is not a creation of the 90's or even the 70's when Amitabh did movies like Deewar, Parwana, Trishul (certain extent). The anti-hero was always there first played effectively by Ashok Kumar in Kismat & then Dilip Kumar in Dil Diya Dard Liya. Based on a English novel/drama, the Indian audience couldn't digest their hero turning into a negative role & the movie got mixed response.

It was a hit but not a big hit like say Madhumati, Naya Daur, Ganga Jamuna. Those younguns who think Shahrukh did great in negative roles should check this movie to experience the kind of vitality & subtlety such roles can be played with. Dilip Kumar once again displays why multiple generations of actors were inspired by this work & method-acting. The feat achieved & a little surpassed by one of his fans: Amitabh Bachchan.

----------------------------------------The PLOT----------------------------------------

Shankar (Dilip K) is actually a price who's lost in his childhood & is not aware of the fact. He is raised by a noble person who has a sweet daughter (Wahida) & a cruel son (Pran). The person dies of a heart-attack & Pran makes Shankar's life, a hell. Shankar stays there only for Wahida's love. Nothing can separate them. Pran oppresses Dilip to the extent that Dilip who usually doesn't react ends up beating him badly.

Pran sends his people to kill him & Dilip is thrown into water after being beaten badly. He survives & accidentally it is brought to the notice of Prime Minister of the state that he is the prince & the kingdom belongs to him. Meanwhile, Wahida's (under impression that Dilip is dead & also Satish is going to help Pran to retain his status by paying his debt etc) marriage is fixed with Pran's friend Satish. He is a noble guy (Actor Rehman?) who also happens to have a sweet sister.

Dilip can't take it easily, he displays his anger to Wahida but she can't back off the formal engagement due to social-binding, family tradition. He turns into a bitter person & promises a lot of pain & agony to Wahida, Pran & Satish. He plays around with his sister to make Wahida jealous. One things leads to another, Dilip plays around with Pran & also his love (actually a 'tawayaf'), Pran kills her & is finally killed by the police. The movie ends on a good note with Dilip--Wahida's path made clear after related people realize the intensity/purity of their love.

In the actual novel the hero marries Wahida's sister-in-law, he has a daughter with her with Wahida a son & the cycle repeats where they fell in love & Dilip with a hatred for Wahida-her-Son, keeps beating him from time to time similar to what Pran did to him. Indian audience would certainly have hated such ending that time & hence the change. However most of the negative elements have been displayed highly effectively.

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Dilip Kumar! I have seen many people saying 'yuck' the moment you ask them if they like him. I think they are mislead by some of his appearances in the interviews & also some of his movies from 80/90s. The real Dilip Kumar can be found in pre 70s movies. He is BADSHAH & a real MASTER when it comes to dialog delivery, 'exact' emotional frame-of-mind display. His use of voice is as good as Amitabh's. His range of voice is also same as the Big B. Very similar & at the same time very different these two Geniuses! Watch him say playful yet caustic dialog: 'Dil ne bahot dard diye hain Satish Babu, Ab Deemag se kam leta hun' His sense of camera angle is un-matched even today. (Amitabh comes close second or maybe a tie there too). His dialogs in front of Lord Shankara where he displays his frustration/anger against Wahida is of larger-than-life sort.

You get the feel that he must have practiced the dialogs in front of a mirror for hours. The expressions on his face & at times just thru his eyes are a treat to watch. At times he expressed his anger or a very shady thought easily thru his eyes, sort of cold blooded....make you SALUTE the great! Saalaam YUSUF-bhai...You have done a truck-load of 'ahesaan' & impact on the film industry. SALAAAAM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wahida ke kya kehene: She is dignity personified. The initial phase, she displayed love/worry for her lover in an adorable fashion. The way she explains the reasons why she had to get engaged & the expressions when Shankar says to her 'Main tumhare liye jindagi bhar marata raha...Tum aisa karanese pehele mar q nahi gayee:: I chose to die for you, why didn't you embrace the death instead of killing my love?'

Pran is literally Pran (life). He does his role & gives Dilip Kumar a perfect opposition. People like Pran, Wahida also inspire a great like Dilip to out-perform himself. Rest of cast has given good performances.

----------------------------------------The MUSIC----------------------------------------

Naushad's music is also a positive side of this movie. The title song is well made & well sung by Rafi Dilrubaa maine tere pyaar main kya kya na kiya, kabhi phulon main gujari, kabhi kaanto main jiya, Dil Diya Dard Liya'.

This classical based song is my favorite 'Sawan aaye ya na aaye jiya jab zhoome sawan hain..'. A little odd tune for a party song is 'Kya rangee mehfil hain di daram'. Lata's evergreen song is 'Phir Teri Kahani yaad aaye, phir tera fasana yaad aayaa'.

Rafi's masterpiece where camera follows Dilip's face is 'Gujare hain aaj ishq main hum iss makam se...nafarat si ho gayee hain muhabbat ke namase'. An excellent sad song performed very well by both the singer & the actor.

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A must see masterpiece by the thespian. You got to see this amazing display of power-packed performance. The anti-hero or the negative shades are displayed to perfection by this great actor of all times. It is a timeless performance which might not be appreciated in the 'fast-food' crazy world. But I do think that once you focus on the movie & give a little more attention span instead of changing channels like a job given to you..:) You will surely love this movie & specially Dilip Kumar's work.

However, the movie could have been a little fast & at times more crisp. Also, after becoming the king, Dilip doesn't seem to have natural urge to meet Wahida ASAP & get going. This comes across as an error in the screenplay, rather than the mistake in the plot/story.

P.S. Note that I have no intention of showing Shahrukh down by comparing him to these greats. Just wanted to stress how hyped his ability as an actor is! Popularity no doubt it is great but acting abilities...Hummm! Also, I am sure Shahrukh fans are his fans despite the overacting/repetitiveness he does & not because of that!