''Diljale'' () is a 1996 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

romantic action film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey through da ...

directed by

Harry Baweja Harjaspal Baweja (born 1956) is an Indian film director based in Mumbai and hails from Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 � ...

, with screenplay by

Karan Razdan Karan Razdan (born 25 April 1961) is an Indian actor, writer and director, who works in Bollywood. Career He began his writing career with an unforgettable television show named ‘’Rajni’’ and then wrote produced and made his debut as dir ...

. The film stars

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director, and producer. One of the most prolific actors of Hindi cinema, Devgn has appeared in over Ajay Devgn filmography, 100 films and ha ...

, Madhoo and

Sonali Bendre Sonali Bendre Behl (born 1 January 1975), known professionally as Sonali Bendre, is an Indian actress predominantly known for her work in Hindi and Telugu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the 1990s and early 2000s, Bendre s ...

along with

Parmeet Sethi Parmeet Sethi is an Indian actor. He is best known for portraying Kuljeet Singh in his debut in Aditya Chopra's directorial debut ''Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (1995). Sethi has also acted in films such as '' Dhadkan'' (2000), '' Om Jai Jaga ...

Shakti Kapoor Shakti Kapoor (born Sunil Kapoor; 3 September 1952) is an Indian actor and comedian who appears in Bollywood films. Known for his villainous and comic roles in Hindi films, he has featured in over 700 films. In the 1980s and 1990s, Kapoor team ...

Gulshan Grover Gulshan Grover (born 21 September 1955) is an Indian actor and film producer who has appeared in over 100 films. He is popularly known as the "Bad Man" of Hindi cinema because of his ability to create an impact with his negative roles in films. ...

and

Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...

in supporting roles. The film received positive reviews, and earned a lifetime gross of 15.85 crore. IBNLive included ''Diljale'' among its list of "Ajay Devgn's memorable films".

Plot

The film starts with Radhika (

) being introduced to an Army Captain Ranvir (

) by her father, Raja Saab (

), an erstwhile king and current politician. Raja Saab tells her that the Captain will be a good husband for her. On the day of the engagement, news breaks of a terrorist attack in a nearby village led by the terrorist, Shaka (

). Ranvir and Raja Saab leave with a large force to that village. But that turns out to be a ruse as Shaka comes to the venue of the engagement and burns the wedding

Mandap A ''mandapa'' or ''mantapa'' () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture and Jain temple architecture. ''Mandapas'' are described as "open" or "closed" dependin ...

. Then, he stares for long at Radhika, who looks at him with hatred, and leaves. Shaka reaches his lair, where he meets his leader, Dara (

) and Shabnam ( Madhoo) and the rest of his gang. Dara welcomes him and proclaims him to be Diljale. Shabnam (Madhoo), who loves him, tries to hug him, but Shaka rebuffs it. Shaka then goes to visit his mother (

Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...

), and the story of Shaka is shown in a flashback. Shaka was originally Shyam, a patriotic college student and son of a local village leader. Radhika studies in the same college, and they both fall deeply in love. When Raja Saab tries to usurp all the village land, Shyam's father leads all the villagers against him. Raja Saab bribes a local police officer (

), who falsely accuses Shyam's father to be a terrorist and kills him in an encounter. When Shyam goes to Raja Saab's home to take revenge, Raja Saab (who knows of their love affair and feels it is below his family's dignity) frames Shyam also as a terrorist and tries to kill him. Shyam escapes, but Radhika, who only sees him threatening her father, berates him and proclaims him a terrorist. Brokenhearted, Shyam joins Dara's group and becomes Shaka. Back in the present time, Ranvir surrounds Shaka at his mother's home but finds himself outnumbered by Shaka's men. Shaka asks him to go away. Ranvir then confronts Radhika and asks her if she knows Shaka from earlier. Under pressure from Raja Saab, she denies knowing Shaka. The army captures four associates of Dara. To get them freed, Dara asks Shaka, Shabnam and some others to hijack a bus travelling from

Vaishno Devi Vaishno Devi (also known as Mata Rani, Trikuta, Ambe and Vaishnavi) is a manifestation of the Hindu mother goddess. She is worshipped as a combined avatar of the goddesses Mahakali, Mahalakshmi, and Mahasarasvati. Origin Purāṇa In t ...

. When Shaka captures them and brings them to a ruined temple, he is shocked to find Radhika (who had gone to Vaishno Devi to pray for Shaka) among the hostages. She confronts him and tells him that he never loved her or the country. Shaka is stung and tells her that he lost everything for her love. She then tells him to release everyone since they are innocent and says that if he loves her, he will do so. He agrees under the condition that she will remain with him. When Shabnam and the others tried to stop this release, Shaka disarms them and releases the hostages and runs away with Radhika. Dara is livid with this betrayal and wants to kill Shaka. Raja Saab meets him and tells him to kill Shaka and release Radhika. Dara agrees, but in return, wants his four associates released and for his entire group to be safely escorted by Raja Saab to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Meanwhile, the corrupt police officer, who killed Shyam's father, tries to kill Shaka, who disarms him. To save himself, the police officer tells the truth to Radhika, who is shocked to see the depth of love which Shaka has for her. Shaka kills the police officer, but is captured by Dara's men. Dara puts both of them under lock and key, but Shabnam releases Shaka. Shaka confronts Dara and asks him not to sell his homeland to politicians like Raja Saab, but Dara orders his men to kill Shaka. Army attack Dara and his men at that very moment. Raja Saab, Dara and his men escape with Radhika in their custody with Shaka and Shabnam in close pursuit. Ranvir finds Raja Saab's son hiding in a corner and finds out the truth about Shyam and Raja Saab. Dara tells his Pakistani Intelligence handler that they need help crossing the border. Since some Americans are visiting the border and Pakistan doesn't want to be caught supporting terrorists, the Pakistanis decide to mine the border crossing and kill Dara and his men. Dara, Raja Saab and others reach the last border outpost. Raja Saab goes to talk to the Officer of the post to facilitate the escape of Dara and his men. But Shaka has already reached there and is waiting for him in the office. He kills Raja Saab, but Dara and his men escape. When a couple of Dara's men try to kill Radhika, Shabnam kills them and rescues her. Shabnam brings Radhika to Shaka, but they are all confronted by Ranvir. He tells Shaka that he knows the truth and is sorry, but will still have to arrest him. Shaka agrees, but wants to stop Dara and his men from crossing the border since he believes that they still have good in their hearts. Ranvir agrees, and they go in a

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine (chiefly Alaskan), motor sled (chiefly Canadian), motor sledge, skimobile, snow scooter, or simply a sled is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. Their engines normally ...

towards the border and reach there before Dara and his men. They see Pakistani soldiers laying mines, but are captured by them. The Pakistani General tells them they want to kill Dara and his men since they can always create more terrorists. Shaka and Ranvir kill them all and go towards the border. When Shaka goes to stop Dara and his men, Ranvir stops him saying let the terrorists get killed. Shaka says that he wants to kill terrorism, not terrorists. He shouts at Dara to stop, but Dara thinks it is a trick. So Shaka jumps at one of the mines and is blasted. Shocked, Dara asks his men to stop. Shaka wakes up in a hospital to find his mother, Radhika and Ranvir next to him. Ranvir takes him outside, where Dara, Shabnam, and everyone is waiting. Dara hugs him and apologises, and admits that love can defeat anything, even terrorism. He says that they have all surrendered. Shabnam, too, bids him goodbye. Shyam and Radhika hug each other in the backdrop of the Tiranga.

Cast

Ajay Devgan Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director, and producer. One of the most prolific actors of Hindi cinema, Devgn has appeared in over 100 films and has won numerous accola ...

as Shyam / Shaka * Madhoo as Shabnam *

as Radhika, Raja Saab's daughter. *

as Captain Ranvir *

as Raja Saab, Radhika's father. *

as Inspector Yajwendra *

as Dara *

as Shyam's mother *

Akash Khurana Akash Khurana is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, author, theatre artist and entrepreneur. His first screen appearance was in Shyam Benegal's '' Kalyug''. He has appeared in nearly 60 films, including ''Ardh Satya'', ''Saaransh'', ''N ...

as Shyam's father *

Rakesh Bedi Rakesh Bedi (born 1 December 1954) is an Indian film, stage and television actor. He is known for his iconic comic roles in films such as ''Mera Damaad'' and ''Chashme Buddoor (1981 film), Chashme Buddoor'' (1981). He has also appeared in tele ...

as Raja Saab's Son *

Arun Bakshi Arun Bakshi is an Indian film and television actor and also a singer. He has acted as a character actor in over 100 Hindi films, and as a playback singer has also sung 298 songs. He has also worked in Punjabi and Bhojpuri cinema. He also playe ...

as Laaley *

Himani Shivpuri Himani Bhatt Shivpuri is an Indian actress who is known for her character roles in Hindi films and Hindi soap operas. She is best known for her role in the films including '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994), ''Raja'' (1995), '' Dilwale Dulhan ...

as Leela,Raja Saab's sister and Radhika's aunt. * Dayanand Shetty as gun man

Soundtrack

The film has 8 songs. The music composer of this movie is

Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is the recipient of a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film ...

. The song "Mera Mulk Mera Desh" was copied from the Israeli national anthem "

Hatikvah Hatikvah (, ; ) is the national anthem of the Israel, State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic poetry, Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jews, Jewish people ...

", which itself was sampled after the Italian song "

La Mantovana "La Mantovana" or "Il Ballo di Mantova" (Mantua Dance) is a popular sixteenth-century song attributed to the Italian tenor Giuseppe Cenci, also known as Giuseppino del Biado, (d. 1616) to the text . Its earliest known appearance in print is in Bi ...

Reception

''Diljale'' was a landmark in Madhoo's career. Nisha Mehta of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' said, "Not only do I love the heart-warming song Mera Mulk Mera Desh from Diljale but also I like the essence of the film. Ajay Devgn was too good in it.

Box office

Diljale was released on 27 September 1996 in the budget of (₹5,55,00,000) at 225 screen layouts. It collected (₹71,00,000) at opening day and at opening weekend it collected (₹1,99,00,000). First week it collected (₹3,52,00,000) and India gross collection were (₹15,46,00,000). Worldwide gross collections were (₹15,85,32,500) and adjusted netgross collections were (₹94,40,04,720). Total net gross collections were (₹9,09,00,000) and film been considered as Hit at

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website dedicated to tracking, reporting, and analyzing the financial performance of films released in the Hindi entertainment industry. Established in 2003, Box Office India has become a prominent source of ...

References

External links

* {{Harry Baweja 1990s Hindi-language films 1990s Indian films 1990s romantic action films 1996 action drama films Films scored by Anu Malik Films set in Jammu and Kashmir Films about Islamic terrorism in India Films shot in Himachal Pradesh Films shot in Ooty Films about social issues in India Films about organised crime in India Films about corruption in India Films directed by Harry Baweja Films set in Pakistan Indian romantic action films Indian action drama films Indian romantic drama films Indian Army in films India–Pakistan relations in popular culture Military of Pakistan in films