A hugely underrated cinematic gem from Mani Ratnam, Dil Se till date remains Shah Rukh Khan's most mature work. Khan's devastating portrayal of an All India Radio programme executive madly in love of a mystical beauty, who he knows can never be his, carries the hallmark of an actor working at the height of his powers. No wonder Khan became the nation's heartthrob in the '90s in spite of the odd choices he made during this phase. Although he has only grown in stature since then, his later performances pale in comparison. Post mid-2000s, he has been a spent force and his most recent performances have been abysmal to say the least.

Speaking of Dil Se, it is Manisha Koirala's beguiling performance that gives the movie its soul. Austerely dressed and with minimal make-up and sparse dialogue, she sets the celluloid on fire. It's difficult to think of another Bollywood actress with such a striking combination of beauty and brains. As Meghna, she is both the hunter and the hunted: a quintessential femme fatale. There is poetry in the duo's on-screen romance and a sort of divine connect. The movie follows SRK's character through the seven stages of love: starting with infatuation and ending with obsession and ultimately death. Alas, all great tales of love are essentially tragedies! Dil Se is no different.

Mani Ratnam masterfully weaves an unforgettable tale of love in the backdrop of terrorism. A. R. Rehman's music and Santosh Sivan's cinematography beautifully add to the movie's poignancy. The dance sequences and the exotic locations of the song 'Satrangi Re' transcends the viewer to a world of Sufi romanticism and Urdu poetry. One can't really ask for more!

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