- Farhan Akhtar's debut film Dil Chahta Hai turned 25 in 2023 with celebrated memories shared.
- Dimple Kapadia played an older woman loved by Akshaye Khanna's character in the film.
- Released in 2001, Dil Chahta Hai redefined male friendship and love in a cosmopolitan setting.
As Farhan Akhtar's debut film, Dil Chahta Hai, turned 25 this year, anecdotes and memories of the film have flooded social media. Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Farhan Akhtar, along with Sonali Kulkarni, Dimple Kapadia and producer Ritesh Sidhwani, sat down for a special chat in Mumbai, recalling fond anecdotes about the film. During the event, Dimple Kapadia joked about why she said “yes” to a film that is, on the surface, about male friendship.
“I absolutely fell in love with the story. I thought it was brilliant. And it was flattering to my ego that a younger guy is in love with me,” said Kapadia.
“But I don't recommend it all,” Kapadia left the entire auditorium in splits.
“As you can see, Sid (Akshaye Khanna) has not come back. He has left me. But the character was brilliant and slightly difficult for me. But knowing me, I was trying to run away to the other side. And I was busy recommending other heroines. Guts hi nahi the ke ye role kar payenge. But thank God, better sense prevailed. God is kind,” recalled Dimple Kapadia.
In the film, Akshaye Khanna is in love with Dimple Kapadia's character who is much older to him.
About Dil Chahta Hai
Released in 2001, Dil Chahta Hai was path-breaking in many ways. The film redefined new-age male friendship and initiated conversations about love beyond societal acceptance. It became a playbook for an entire generation of youngsters navigating life, work, choices and love in a cosmopolitan city.
In an earlier interview with Variety India, looking back at the making of Dil Chahta Hai, Saif Ali Khan said, “It was insane fun, it was incredible fun because it was Goa and we were very young. We did things, we shot on the beach and we partied as well. We finished shooting on the beach and they said, ‘Everyone just pick up a bit of litter, please. And let's leave the beach cleaner than we found it.' And we did. We basically cleaned it from even before we got there and they were so happy with that.”
“We're laughing most of the time because Farhan wore it all very lightly. It was like he was born to direct with the ease with which he was on a set. So there was no tension in the film. We were told to know your lines, no figuring it out once you get there. Just learn your lines and then the rest was great fun. So it was an incredible experience going out to so many different places. The whole process was apparently very international and kind of incredible but was it fun? It was a riot from day one. We were laughing all the time.”
Dil Chahta Hai also featured Preity Zinta, Ayub Khan and Rajat Kapoor.
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