This movie was very well-shot and atmospheric, so it gives a truly emphatic sense of the journey that the main characters go through.
But in typical Mani Ratnam fashion, he takes 30 minutes to establish what could be efficiently done in one scene, or even one line of dialogue. It has one of the best cinematography by Santosh Sivan, great music by A.R.Rahman, beautifully picturization of the songs, good acting by Shahrukh, Manisha and Preeti.
Shahrukh Khan has played his role to perfection of a good guy falling in love and then losing his innocence as the plot unfolds.
Manisha should have won Filmfare for this for her performance. The struggle in her between joy and innocence of youth and desire for love, and between the tragic pain and dark memory that she is not able to erase is projected by her in way that no matter how cold hearted you are, you will feel what she is feeling.
One of the best movies of the decade and highly recommended for those who are studying movie making (like me).