A beautifully presented story about loving and losing, `HDDCS` does remind you of the Anil -Padmini-Naseer starrer `Woh Saat Din` but there is definitely more to the film. The music by first timer Ismail Darbar is praiseworthy and fitting to the various moods of the story. The placement of the title song is extremely well done.Salman Khan is utterly loveable as the fun loving but devoted Sameer, while Ajay Devgan seems perfect as the reserved but honest Vanraj.

However the film belongs to Aishwarya Rai, who has been presented brilliantly by the director and has done a good job, finally. She`s the best choice for the mischievous, fun filled Nandini with the spark and the Nandini who feels that life has gone out of her.

…a movie that treads the beaten path and yet manages to retain some degree of freshness, and makes the audience have that satisfying paisa-vasool feeling, is indeed a rarity.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, after burning his fingers experimenting on something new in Khamoshi, has found a hit in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. The reason that the movie is a treat to watch, despite its “as-old-as-the-mountains” story, is that the subject has been handled well and the actors perform up to par.

The nicest things about this film are the songs and the cinematography. Ismail Darbar’s songs are well-researched and he has relied heavily on Rajasthani folk music. The song Aankhon is gustakhiyan is beautifully picturised…Sanjay Leela Bhansali has proved again that he has mastered emotional subjects. This film, like his first one, is sensitively handled and keeps things tight, concentrating on just three characters. The rest just come and go. He has avoided digressing into the cliches other films wallow in — khandan ki izzat and all that.