Starring: Manoj Bajpai, Tabu, Saurabh Shukla, Kishore Kadam, Aditya Srivastav, Harsh Chhaya, Kashmira Shah Written by: Saurabh Shukla Art Direction: Ajay Verekar Cinematography: Sanjay Kapoor Editing: Girish Madhu Audiography: Arun Nambiar Choreography: Remo Action: Amin Gani Lyrics: Abbas Tyrewala Music: Vishal Bhardwaj Produced by: Anish, Ajay Tuli Directed by: Hansal Mehta

Synopsis

Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar looks at the many layers of life in a city, seen through the eyes of Ram Saran. Ram Saran is a migrant - one of thousands who enter the 'big bad city' with a dream. The film looks at his journey, his interaction with the various layers of society, his ever-changing dreams and the resulting metamorphosis that it brings into his life. It is a film that looks at need based friendships and the results of betrayal thereafter...

Hansal Mehta describes Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar as a journey of shattered dreams of migrants who come to a city like Mumbai. This leads them to desperation thus making desperate choices affecting their relationships in the process. Sounds grim and dark? But the treatment is in fact quite the opposite! Actually the idea of Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar was serious and grim when it started but Saurabh Shukla suggested it should be exactly the opposite and that appealed to Hansal. Thus while the film deals with a very real and disturbing problem, it is designed as a bittersweet experience where you laugh at most of most of the characters as they land into various situations.

The film was initially planned as a small 'indie' film to be made on 16 mm in 1998. Manoj Bajpai was signed on for the lead role but then Satya happened to him. Manoj suggested making it a little later on a little larger scale but in his over enthusiasm to make the film as soon as he could, Hansal tried going ahead with newcomers. However the producer was unwilling to go ahead without Manoj and the film was shelved. Things did not work out with another prospective producer but by this time the first draft of the script was ready and Manoj having heard the script was back in the film.

Ajay Tuli, a friend sold his shares, and Hansal too put in his own money. They were joined by Anish and a Production Company started. But since it would take time for the money from the shares to come, all the company had going for it was Rs 5000 in the Bank and a bound script!

Hansal had approached Tabu earlier for another subject and though that didn't work out, the two had got on pretty well. She was new to internet surfing and as things would have it, Hansal became her web advisor! She was on for the project but could not allocate the required dates. Hansal did approach Juhi but things were sorted out with Tabu who even managed the necessary dates by opting out of another film.

By the time of the third and final schedule of 37 days commenced, with all the initial payments having been made, money was running out and by the 5th or 6th day of the schedule it had run out. At this point however a deal was struck for the overseas territory and with the advance received from there, the film was finally completed after just 52 days of shooting within a span of three months.

The film is shot by Sanjay Kapoor, a young cameraman who has trained in the United States. Hansal had seen potential in him after viewing two small 'indie' films on which he was Director of Photography. For the film Sanjay has worked on the Bleach bypass process in a controlled manner to give Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar its look. Its use in varying degrees sees the film go from being extremely colourful as it starts, to the colours being totally de-saturated by the time the film ends while retaining the high contrast quality of the image. This is because the film itself begins with a lot of fun and becomes darker and darker as the story progresses says Hansal.

Selling the film was another struggle. Not only did distributors think the film was offbeat, what with a cast of Manoj and Tabu, but even Manoj was cast in a role that went against his newly acquired angry young man image. But now finally the film has been sold in most major territories at a moderate rate so that not only is it easier to recover the money put in but more so that distributors find the next film of this team feasible to distribute.

Jayate, his first film, had made Hansal realize that there is no point in making a film if it cannot be seen. Though critically acclaimed and having been to various International Film Festivals, the film is yet to see the light of day in Indian theatres. Fortunately Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar faces no such problems. The film releases theatrically all over on September 1, 2000.