Dil Ka Rishta -A Glorious Soap Opera Self-Insert Fanfic

Ever see those soap opera’s on TV or read a fanfic where the plots are nonsensical, the chemistry is between beautiful people, the bad guy is somehow the hero and the melodrama is as high as the lack of logic? Yea, this is that in a movie form. Also if you  either want to be dreaming of either Arjun Rampal or Aishwarya Rai then this is the movie for you, just insert yourself in to one of them or just be both if you prefer. This is the movie for you!

 

Summary:

Jai is a millionaire who supports many charities. In one of the schools he supports that he goes to see with his best friend Anita, one for the deaf, he meets the beautiful teacher Tia. He falls head over heels for her and he believes she feels the same. Alas for her he is just a good friend. She loves Raj and the two are engaged. Jai, taking the word “no” badly still tries to see Tia and pursue her. Tia and Raj marry and have a son named Anshu. Soon an accident happens which makes Tia to loose her memory as she is flung in to the arms of Jai. The whole plot becomes more problematic, melodramatic and fanficky from there.

 

This was one of the first Hindi films that I watched that were easily found on YouTube with English subtitles (they were dark days…bad movies I didn’t know were bad…the music…the plots…oh the horror of naivety!). At that time I was completely in love with both Aishwarya and Arjun Rampal, I mean just look at the picture below! Both models and both posters for absolute beauty that you can only HOPE you will meet or even better have them sweep you off your feet! So yea, I loved this movie to the songs to the acting. Now with many more years and movies behind it is a little cringeworthy, but it is a very harmless silly silly movie with swoon worthy beautiful people. What else can a teenager ask for!

 

(You can practically hear the fanfic writers typing the story by these pictures alone and OH SUCH DRAMA!)

The movie is directed by Naresh Malhotra who has directed, edited and produced since the 1970s in a surprising amount of good movies. He directed movies like Yeh Dillagi (1994) and his latest was Ishq Ne Krazy Kia Re (2015) that seemed to go unnoticed by everyone. He has a distinct style of honest emotion even in a silly plot, but he also makes the fantasy sequences realistic. Like in this movie, adding a dance rehearsal for the films first song number, or having the hero practice how to even say the words “I love you” with the help of his father and best friend to the girl he likes.

Arjun Rampal has the heavy duty of carrying the plot upon his attractive shoulders as Jai. Sure anyone would fall for his face in an instant, but it’s his smile, his eyes, his body and somehow the earnest feelings along with his characters questionable motives make it hard to look away. He is nervous, manic, awkward, adorable, all what women want. If only his character wasn’t stuck in this silly movie. No! I take it back, this is a fanfic movie for us to fall for him and it works! His chemistry with Isha Koppikar is relaxed and easy, while with Aishwarya it turns from devoted to full on “Oh shit I’m in love and can’t tell her, but I can’t help it either” angsty type with water filled eyes in the dance number ‘Saajan Saajan’ that make you swoon to the floor.

Aishwarya is absolutely beautiful in this film. She acts quite well with her eyes, that quiver of a lip, the small gestures are her forte and its put to use here as she is the teacher for deaf children.

 

Paresh Rawal as Jai’s father is heartwarming, trying to make a grand gesture of love with rose petals and wedding music as the rejected Jai walks back home. He just tries to have him be happy and it comes from a sincere place of love. He wants Tia to be with his son and only interferes when he needs to.

I sounded at first like I probably hated this film, but I don’t really. Everyone is easy on the eyes, the songs are classic early 2000s and its just a silly movie with a lot of heart and sincerity that just lacks the power to make it something more like Devdas or Saathiya which came the year before. Its good movie to see free on YouTube, but certainly not buy unless you absolutely want to. So yeah the trailer is below, watch it on YouTube on your free time or just skip it.

 

 

 

 

SPOILERS FROM HERE ONWARDS! 

 

 

 

 

Now to the spoiler plot!

 

Jai tells Tia that he loves her after this and is rejected. He pursues her, trying to woo her to be with him in the most gracious stalking ever of a guy who got “friend zoned”  with dinners and romantic gestures. This is the part where you can get angry at him because he cannot take the word “no” and move on. It wouldn’t be dramatic that way. But Tia is clearly uncomfortable with this, to make him understand that it won’t change her mind. Personally I think the original idea was for her to seem bad in rejecting him, but since Raj is a good guy we see more of why Jai is the so called bad guy in this situation. She doesn’t owe him anything and she tells him so. An overlooked Aishwarya role, but she really does speak for all women when she rejects him. His family of course comforts him, that they are meant to be ect. but come on! Even Anita thinks she likes him as if a woman knowing what another feelings are validating the others when they clearly aren’t! It’s a writing problem and a male one at that. Saying that a woman likes the hero while still being with a very good guy with no problems except the usual teasing and pulling her legs, but tat’s the kind of guy he is. It’s like the film wants to have it both ways and can’t seem to make up tis mind on whose side it is on; Jai’s or Tia’s. Though the side is more turned to Tia’s with all the positive aspects in her life being shown, with no need for someone like Jai at this point in her life. Indeed Raj says: “Relationships of the heart cannot be forced”. That is the message of the film. But it forgets to add the line “unless the other is dead and the girl looses her memory”. That is the sad part. It had a great message, but messed it up in the second half, yet made us guile for it because Arjun Rampal is too handsome for his own good.

 

Tia and Raj marry and poor Arjun is sad and angsty things didn’t work out for him! Honestly I have no pity for him at this part. He needs to grow from this rich boy and be a man and accept his position in life. That in the end is his journey in the film. To learn to be an adult, not an angsty boy who got rejected. He is unhappy and this drinks and in the end he causes the accident which kicks of his own love plot with Tia. YOU SEE WHY I CALLED HIM THE BAD GUY!

AND THEN SHE LOOSES HER MEMORY AND THE DOCTOR’S SAY SHE WILL DO SOMETHING DRASTIC IF SHE IS REMINDED OF HER PAST LIFE SO THEY KEEP IT ALL A SECRET! ANITA IS HER DEAD BEST FRIEND AND JAI’S DEAD WIFE NOW AND JAI IS THERE TO HELP WHILE RAJ IS COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN! Again, I don’t know if this is medically accurate, but I swear there are at least 20+ fanfics like this and I have not even read them.

Though now Jai has my sympathy because he apologises and wants to make amends to Tia and her family for Raj’s death. He also has PTSD from the accident and refuses to drive which is good. He struggles with the baby, but he learns. Tia’s mother is still mad at him, but if moving to South Africa, a change of scenery make sit all better for Tia than she accepts it.

 

So Tia and Jai become parents for what she believes is Jai’s child. They work together well working through he trials of parenting with beautiful sari’s and dream sequences. He is all moody and tries to keep away from Tia because of the hurt he caused her, while Tia is slowly falling for Jai to her mother’s disapproval. They act like husband and wife and again this is sooo self-insert fanfic part of the movie from this moment on its ridiculous how they make be want these two to be together and it works to twist the mind with its plot to make you root for these two. Or maybe its just me and I’ll fall for any handsome Arjun Rampal no matter what the plot.

Oh and South Africa is shown with both black and white people in it, along with the beautiful scenery of the landscape, culture, zoo’s and shops. Its a good tourist advert of a movie for it and actually did good box office there when it premiered there back in 2003.

And what do you know? They fall in love with one another. Or Tia to Jai who accepts it, but is still a little reluctant because of obvious reasons of guilt. And Tia’s mother, whose the best moral person, says that it would be wrong for them to fall in love because of what he did. He takes it to heart but they both are obviously in love with one another and the BIG BAD SECRET is keeping them apart emotionally. Like Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre now that I think about it. Good eye acting from Arjun in here, the pain, the angst, the love, the bad memories, the hurt and all show there. Yea, I love his eyes in this movie if that’s not yet clear. I am a sucker for the Byronic hero type, can’t help it.

 

Tia is mad at Jai for being so distant with her when there is an obvious connection between them. Jai’s dad listens as Tia tells of her predicament and the two of them form a plan to have her sing at the party in their hotel, but Jai doesn’t bite and Tia is left trying to pursue him. Then they try to have it be that Jai’s father is supposedly having a heart attack and he needs to come. He does and confesses his feelings, but when it all turns out to be a prank he calls them out on it before leaving.

His father gives Tia’s mother a choice; to either let her daughter be happy and marry Jai or tell her about her lost memories and make her take the widows white. It’s a powerful scene, if not extra dramatic, but it works. Tia’s mother accepts the proposal, but Tia is still unsure because of Jai’s coldness towards her. Tia tells him of the news. He is still held back by his guilt, lashing out on her (verbally, thankfully not physically). Tia is sad because of this and flees to the car, there is slight chase with Arjun getting in to the car and they argue.

 

When they do he lets it spill that Anshu is her son and all secrets are revealed. Everything is explained to her and she and Jai are happy.

Yea, as you see its quite a silly plot, but it works in an odd way which made me like Arjun even in his BAD VILLAIN moments. As I said it’s all sincere, that’s why it works. So yeah, I like this movie and love Arjun in it. Now go and write your fanfic and take this movie’s plot as a guideline, switch it up, and insert yourself in it proudly!

 

Thank you for reading!