Aamir, Saif and Akshaye Khanna in still from Dil Chahta Hai (courtesy FarOutAkhtar)
Highlights
- "It could only be you as Shalini," Farhan wrote for Preity
- "Tara was written for you," he added for Dimple Kapadia
- "Thank you for being a joy to work with," Farhan tweeted for Sonali
On 20 years of Dil Chahta Hai, Farhan Akhtar took a trip down memory lane and relived some of his most cherished memories. In 2001, Farhan Akhtar made his debut as a director with Dil Chahta Hai, which eventually became a classic buddy film. As the film clocked 20 years on Tuesday, Farhan tweeted a bunch of thank you notes for the film's cast and crew and also packed some trivia in his tweets. For example, Farhan revealed that Preity Zinta was the first star to jump onboard the film and that without Dimple Kapadia, he may have not made Dil Chahta Hai at all.
Farhan Akhtar began by thanking Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna - the actors who portrayed the trio of besties in Dil Chahta Hai - Akash, Sameer and Sid. "'Ya toh dosti gehri thi ya ye photo 3D thi'... thank you Aamir, Saif and Akshaye for your belief in the script, in a first time writer/director and for bringing Akash, Sameer and Sid to life in your own uniquely amazing way. Love you guys," tweeted Farhan.
For Preity Zinta, who played the role of Shalini (Aamir's character Akash's eventual love interest), Farhan tweeted: "It could only be you as Shalini... so thank you for saying yes way before a final draft and anyone else being cast... your faith meant so much to me."
Dimple Kapadia portrayed the role of Tara Jaiswal, a middle aged divorcee, who Akshaye Khanna's character Sid falls in love with. For Dimple, Farhan wrote: "I think if you had said no, I'd probably have had to scrap making the film. Tara was written for you and thank my lucky stars that you said yes. Forever grateful."
Meanwhile, Sonali Kulkarni was cast as Pooja, the one who made Saif Ali Khan realise the true meaning of love: "The question 'woh ladki hai kahan' could not have found a better answer than you... thank you for being an absolute joy to work with," Farhan tweeted for her.
Farhan Akhtar celebrated 20 years of Dil Chahta Hai with more tweets of gratitude dedicated to the film's team:
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Farhan Akhtar also announced his next directorial venture Jee Le Zaraa, a road trip film starring Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif. "Did someone say road trip? Thrilled to announce my next film as director and what better day than 20 years of Dil Chahta Hai to do it," he wrote.