Dil Se.. 1998

Amarkant Varma, a program executive for All India Radio, is sent from New Delhi to cover the festive atmosphere in Assam. On a rainy night at Haflong railway station, he is stranded for hours waiting for the Barak Valley Express. In a moment of curiosity, he asks a mysterious woman for a light, and as a strong gust blows away her shawl, he sees her beauty and tries to spark a conversation. She remains distant, but when he returns with tea, she boards a nearby train with three men and disappears into the distance. Later, he arrives in Silchar and unexpectedly spots the same woman again. She insists she cannot recall meeting him before, setting the stage for a complex, evolving connection.

During the fifty-year celebration of Indian independence, Amar conducts interviews with Assamese locals and an extremist leader who condemns the government for human rights abuses and poverty. The leader’s message is blunt: dialogue with the government is not on the table, and their resistance will continue. As Amar navigates his reporting duties, he revisits the enigmatic woman on air, recounting their encounter to his audience. He encounters her again at a post office in Silchar, where she tells him to leave her alone, yet he persists, confessing that he has fallen in love with her. She reveals she is married, or so she claims, and he leaves to process the mounting odds.

A dramatic turn comes when, after continuing to pursue her, Amar learns that the woman who captivated him is entangled in a dangerous web. He follows her to her home, only to be told that she has left town. He bribes a post office clerk for her contact details and discovers she is in Leh, where he travels to cover the Sindhu Darshan Festival. There, a suicide bomber is shot dead by the Indian military; the woman is again in the vicinity, and the couple boards a bus together as soldiers screen every passenger. The woman—*Meghna*—reveals her name as part of a larger, shadowy plan. The day’s events culminate in a desert night where a dreamlike dance scene underscores their budding, fragile connection. By morning, Meghna is gone again, and Amar returns to Delhi.

Back home, Amar’s family introduces him to another woman, Preeti Nair from Kerala as a potential bride. On a date, he spots one of Meghna’s associates and pursues him through Connaught Place. The associate dies from cyanide, leaving the police to file the case with the CBI due to its extremist dimensions. Meghna remains in Delhi, staying with Amar to evade the inquiry. She resists Amar’s affections but cannot fully escape his devotion, and her presence at Amar’s engagement shocks him and Preeti.

As the investigation deepens, Amar learns that Meghna’s true identity is Moina, a woman with a harrowing past. Moina reveals that she was sexually assaulted as a child by members of the army and that villages have been devastated and families destroyed in the name of justice and liberation. She explains that her mission is rooted in a demand for justice, even as it means violence. Amar’s attempts to understand her history collide with the brutal reality of her cause, and he realizes she intends to trigger multiple suicide attacks in New Delhi during the Republic Day parade.

The CBI presses hard, and Amar’s innocence is questioned as they fear his involvement with the terrorists. He insists he is not aiding them but is deeply in love with Moina and wants to stop her from harming others. The authorities release him briefly after a confrontation, but he is soon sedated and jailed again. Demonstrating extraordinary resolve, he resists the effects of the sedative and escapes, continuing his pursuit of Moina.

Moina is preparing for the final act—the suicide attack she has planned for Republic Day. Amar confronts her, pleading for a fresh start and asking her to say she loves him. When she hesitates, he offers to die with her. She embraces him, and in that moment the explosive device she carries detonates, killing them both.

The tragedy leaves Amar battered and returning home to a fractured life. Preeti informs him that his mother is under scrutiny, and Moina’s whereabouts are traced to Sunder Nagar. Amar vows to stop Moina, but the CBI remains unconvinced of his innocence. He is briefly detained again, but he escapes once more, driven by love and a stubborn need to prevent further bloodshed. The final chapters document a desperate search, a perilous chase, and a heartbreakingly intimate confrontation between two people bound by a doomed love, ending with a shared fate as the bomb explodes and their lives end in a single, tragic moment.