Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani

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Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani

DVD Cover
Directed by Aziz Mirza
Produced by Juhi Chawla
Shahrukh Khan
Aziz Mirza
Written by Sanjay Chhel
Raaj Kumar Dahima
Manoj Lalwani
Starring Juhi Chawla
Shahrukh Khan
Johnny Lever
Paresh Rawal
Music by Jatin-Lalit
Cinematography Santosh Sivan
Distributed by Dreamz Unlimited
Release date(s) January 21, 2000
Running time 168 mins
Country Flag of India India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (Devanagari: फिर भी दिल है हिंदुस्तानी,Nastaliq: پھر بھی دل ہے ہندوستانے translation : "But the heart is still Indian") is a Bollywood movie released by Dreamz Unlimited on January 21, 2000. The film was directed by Aziz Mirza and stars Shahrukh Khan as Ajay Bakshi, a confident, loudmouth TV reporter, and Juhi Chawla as Ria Banerjee, Ajay's rival reporter.

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani focuses on the media war being fought in the TV newsrooms.

The film had mixed reviews from critics and audiences and failed at the box office, even though it was a high-profile movie by director Aziz Mirza, it could not emulate the successes his previous movies Yes Boss and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman had. The film only managed to pick up one award - in 2001, Award for Technical Excellence from Awards of the International Indian Film Academy.

[edit] Plot synopsis

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, loosely based on the 1940 classic His Girl Friday, focuses on the media war being fought in the TV newsrooms. Ajay Bakshi is a TV reporter and with his rather unorthodox style, he enjoys celebrity status to the point of arrogance. In response, a rival TV channel, with dropping ratings, hires Ria Banerjee to counter Ajay's popularity.

When a businessman is assassinated on election eve, the assassin, Mohan Joshi is arrested on the spot, but manages to escape days later during the media coverage. He is accused of terrorism and the country is thrown into an uproar. Many die who had no connection with the rivalries of Joshi and his victim, in a corporate attempt to scare the survivors into believing that Joshi is part of a "foreign hand" of bullies.

Joshi meets Ajay and Ria then tells them the truth behind the whole incident. It seems that Joshi's teenage daughter died because of a brutal rape by the man whom he would later slay. Revealing while "on camera" that this man and his partners have been destroying everything in pursuit of their goals, Joshi declares that he killed the man in revenge, almost without thinking. "If that is terrorism, I'm a terrorist", he concludes.

Later, Joshi is put into prison and sentenced to death. On the day of his execution, the reporters lead a silent march, flying the national flag of India, to find Joshi and make the truth public. He is freed, and justice is secured.

[edit] Characters

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