Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Sana Saeed, Farida Jalal

Director: Karan Johar

Music: Jatin, Lalit

Lyrics: Sameer

Capsule Review: A simple stylish, sensuous and ambrosial love story about three college friends, the film’s uniquely colourful though tasteful styling by art director Sharmista Roy and costume designer Manish Malhotra furnished Johar’s ultra-chic narrative with a feeling of ultimate cool with Shah Rukh Khan as the campus dude in the first half and the widower-dad in the second half. Romancing the campus siren Tina (Rani Mukherjee) or fathering the little prim-and­ serious Sana Saeed, Khan’s energy irrigated the roots of Johar’s extremely endearing narrative. Kajol’s tomboyish act took thenarrative over to its second half where her character blossomed into a sari-clad seductress engaged to marry the prankish Salman Khan (in a special guest appearance) though her heart still beats for her college pal Shah Rukh Khan. Karan Johar’s super-smooth treatment gives the narrative a constant flow and energy. Most of all, there’s the unbeatable chemistry between Shah Rukh and Kajol. Rani Mukherjee dressed in the micro-minis sauntered her way into stardom. The packaging and projection of star charisma was unbeatable. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai marked the arrival of a director whose creative vision matched the size of his audience.

Manisha Koirala and Shahrukh Khan in Dil Se (1998)

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Manisha Koirala, Preity Zinta

Director: Mani Ratnam

Music: A.R. Rahman

Lyrics: Gulzar

Capsule Review: A treatise on love during the time of terrorism, Shah Rukh and Manisha skillfully portray the desperation of a love affair conducted on borrowed time. Shah Rukh Khan as a radio journalist besotted beyond reason by an enchantingly enigmatic woman, gives one of his least stylized performances, filling those spaces in the narrative’s heart with feelings that is at once rich and riveting. Dil Se is crowded with a compendium of thoughtful performers who support the film. Preity Zinta in her debut performance bubbles. A.R Rahman’s music and Farah Khan’s choreography include the celebrated Chhaiyan chhaiyan number on top of a moving train. Mani Ratnam’s first Hindi film is a fascinating study of a sudden and inextinguishable passion. By far the most restless Hindi film ever created, it moves from one topography and feeling to another with a desperate dexterity. In the second half of the narrative the sheer contrast between a normal bustling Delhi household during a wedding and the desolation of a female terrorist who has sacrificed all the trappings of normalcy for a cause, is brought out in passionate pastel shades.

Juhi Chawla and Sunny Deol in Darr (1993)

Cast: Sunny Deol, Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh Khan

Director: Yash Chopra

Music: Shiv, Hari

Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

Capsule Review: Making a departure from the ultra-romanticism of Daag, Kabhi Kabhie and Chandni, Yash Chopra swerved fluently into the sinister with this film. As the psychologically disturbed lover-boy who can’t take no for an answer from Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh Khan made a fashion statement out of stammering manic love-confessions. Though the film was packaged as a typical Yash Chopra romance (with dulcet melodies composed by the classical musicians Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hari Prasad Chaurasia and sung by Lata Mangeshkar projected into an alfresco Alpine environment) Darr was also a scare-fest, with Shah Rukh jumping at Juhi from the most unlikely places. While the hero, Deol was impressive enough in his macho manoeuvres, his adversary who would be traditionally termed the villain, was turned into an attractive figure. Evil became attractive and danger was fun. Especially remarkable are the film’s editing patterns, which create suspense in unexpected sequences. The long Holi sequence where Shah Rukh infiltrates the festivities at Deol-Chawla’s home and the chase on the crowded roads thereafter, are deviously executed.