Reel life ‘Mr. India’ (Anil Kapoor) and real life Miss World (Aishwarya Rai) are paired together for the second time in director Satish Kaushik’s yet another attempt at the turnstiles Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai.
Producer Boney Kapoor retains his faith in Satish despite the fact that Satish has not been able to give him a hit so far.
The svelte Sonali Bendre does her stint as an America-returned girl, while Puru Raj Kumar plays a bad guy in the film. Johny Lever and Jaspal Bhatti chip in with some lighthearted comedy.
Anil Kapoor plays the character of Avinash, a good samaritan and a self-dependent man who invites social opprobrium when he takes to living with Priti (Aishwarya Rai) who is a rape victim.
Priti is a woman haunted by the ravages of her past. Ravished by a man in lust, she knows that she will have to carry the shame and embarrassment of her tragedy all her life.
Avinash empathizes with her feelings and does his prodigious best to bring Priti out of her trauma and dejection. For this he is scorned by his father, and even faces social ostracism.
Avinash’s presence and also the presence of two children Rahul and Pinky, imbues Priti’s life that had earlier been just a drab existence. Avinash loves Priti, and his desire to give her the rightful place prompts him to ask her for marriage. But Priti– although she loves him – refuses as she deems herself unworthy of Avinash.
Like a gentleman, Avinash accepts her refusal, but his love for her remains unmitigated. Now enters Khushi (Sonali Bendre), Avinash’s childhood friend, and an America-return girl full of life and glamour. Khushi harbors soft sentiments for Avinash but she is not able to accept Priti’s presence in his life.
Now, here forms a complex tangle in which we have Khushi vying for Avinash’s love, we have Avinash brooding over his unrequited love and we have Priti who does not wish to bring Avinash anymore troubles. How this complex tangle is solved forms the climax of the story.
Hamara Dil… is a sensitive love story in which underlies the subtle play of emotions. Each character in the movie is carefully worked out by Satish Kaushik, whose earlier directorial ventures with Boney Kapoor (Prem, Roop Ki Raani…) did not do well at the box-office.
Moreover, the movie has intense performances by both Aishwarya and Anil. For Ash particularly, it was a challenge to get under the skin of the character (Priti) and convincingly portray a woman whose inner spirit has gone through the trauma of being a rape victim. And she has delivered quite a performance. Her co-star, Anil Kapoor, has even eulogized her as ‘the Julia Roberts of India’.
Anil Kapoor, on the other hand, has proved his acting prowess again. He has guised the age difference between Ash and him behind his younger looks.
In a nutshell Hamara Dil… has all the ingredients of a good movie. Kabir Lal’s beautiful cinematography, Sanjeev Darshan’s supportive musical score and Javed Akhtar’s heart touching lyrics blend finely with the film’s theme.