There is currently no official Blu-ray of this film. Any "extra quality" version is a fan restoration. Check for watermarks. Legitimate restorations will remove dirt and scratches but preserve the film grain. The Legacy of a Flawed Masterpiece Critics in 2000 panned the film for being too preachy. Yet, watching it in extra quality today feels prophetic. In an era of 24-hour news cycles, "breaking news" manipulation, and reality TV, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani is scarier than any horror film.

But what does "extra quality" mean for a film two decades old? Is it a simple upscale, or is there a lost version of this political satire waiting to be seen? Let’s dive deep into the legacy of this cult classic and the hunt for its definitive high-quality print. Before discussing formats, we must remember why this film deserves an "extra quality" treatment. Directed by Aziz Mirza, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani stars Shah Rukh Khan as Ajay Bakshi and Juhi Chawla as Ritu, two rival news reporters working for competing channels.

The "extra quality" brings out the soul of the film: the sweat on Ajay Bakshi’s brow during the final broadcast, the grain of the newsroom walls, and the sincerity of a film that asked a nation to question its media.

In the golden era of late-90s Bollywood, satire was a rare commodity. While audiences flocked to see family dramas and romantic musicals, one man dared to hold a mirror up to the sensationalist nature of television news. That man was Shah Rukh Khan, and the film was Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani .

By: The Cinema Archives Team

Our use of cookies

We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set optional analytics cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them. Using this tool will set a cookie on, your device to remember your preferences.

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

We'd like to set Google Analytics cookies to help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. The cookies collect information in a way that does not directly identify anyone.

I accept all cookies
)