Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

The film is about three distinct characters, Akash (Aamir Khan), Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) and Siddharth (Akshaye Khanna), their individual relationships and the effect that these relationships have on them.

Director:

Farhan Akhtar

Writers:

Farhan Akhtar (story), Kassim Jagmagia (story)

Stars:

Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna

21 wins & 36 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Aamir Khan	...	Akash Malhotra
Saif Ali Khan	...	Sameer
Akshaye Khanna	...	Siddharth Sinha
Preity Zinta	...	Shalini
Sonali Kulkarni	...	Pooja
Dimple Kapadia	...	Tara Jaiswal
Ayub Khan	...	Rohit
Rajat Kapoor	...	Shalini's Uncle
Suhasini Mulay	...	Sid's Mother
Ahmed Khan
Suchitra Pillai-Malik	...	Priya (as Suchitra Pillai)
Anjula Bedi
Rakesh Pandey
Samantha Tremayne	...	Deepa
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mandala Tayde	...	Deepa - Girl at Chapora Fort (as Manadala tayde)

Storyline

Three young men Akash, Sameer, and Siddharth are close friends, but their tastes and characters are completely incompatible. So when Siddharth falls in love with a much older woman, Tara, a woman who has been unsuccessful in keeping her marriage intact as well as alcohol-dependent, widens the rift between the trio, forcing them to part company. Years later, the trio will be re-united, they will be much mature and understanding, but will they still accept Siddharth love for Tara, especially when they themselves have fallen in love with women around their respective ages?

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Plot Keywords:

love | understanding | alcoholic | divorce | intermittent narration | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to a summer of their lives you will never forget.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi English Urdu

Release Date:

24 July 2001 (India)

Also Known As:

Do Your Thing

Filming Locations:

Australia

Box Office

Budget:

INR 200,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£57,600 (UK) (10 August 2001)

Gross:

£219,113 (UK) (24 August 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Excel Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

183 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shiney Ahuja was almost cast in the role of Siddharth.

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Quotes

Siddharth Sinha: Take this sand for instance, the tighter you try to hold it, the more it slips out of our hand.

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Connections

Features Speed (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Dil Chahta Hai"
Sung by Shankar Mahadevan
Lyrics by Javed Akhtar
Composed by Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani & Loy Mendonsa

User Reviews

An Excellent movie with real life situations!!!

Dil Chahta Hai Starring: Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, Dimple Kapadia and Ayub Khan Director: Farhan Akhtar Music: Shankar-Eshan-Loy Released. Debutant director Farhan Akhtar's (son of Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani) Dil Chahta Hai is the story of three friends and their respective thinking of love. It has a new, trendy and youthful look, completely different from the standards norms of the Bollywood film.

Akash (Aamir Khan), Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) and Siddharth aka Sid (Akshaye Khanna), three close friends, have completed their education and are on the threshold of life. Akash does not believe in love. He is a flirt and his love affairs do not last for more than a month. Sameer believes in love. He is always carrying his heart on his palm and falling in love every time. But he still has not found that special girl. Sid, a painter, is the most sensitive and mature among the three. He knows the true meaning of love. He finds love in everything, everywhere and everytime.

All three are enjoying life. Then comes the twist when Sid falls in love with older woman Tara Jaiswal (Dimple Kapadia), an interior designer, who is a divorcee. Akash is not able to understand the depth of Sid's love and hurts his sentiments for which Sid slaps Akash, thus creating a rfit between the two friends. Sameer tries to bridge the gap but is unsuccessful.

Sid leaves for a painting workshop at Kaushali. Akash leaves for Australia for his dad's business. On the flight, he meets Shalini (Preity Zinta), who he had briefly known earlier. Their friendship slowly blossoms into love. Meanwhile Sameer also finds his special girl in Pooja (Sonali Kulkarni), whom he wants to marry. Time has passed. All three friends are again in the same town -- but things are different for them now.

Full marks to director Farhan Akhtar for giving a completely new and fresh look to the film in his debut film. The storyline is different from the run-of-the-mill fares which we are used to seeing for such a long time. Farhan is a welcomed entry in the list of talented and young directors. He has also dared to be different. He has taken care of the minutest details in the film. Technically, the film is no way behind some of the best Hollywood movies.

Now the performances -- all the three leads are fabulous. They all fit their roles to a T. Aamir Khan as expected is the best. He is too good in the comic scenes and is excellent in the emotional scenes also -- especially in the scene when he breaks down on the phone while talking to his father. He definitely is the best among the current lot who does his work with precision and utmost dedication. Saif Ali Khan is a wonderful surprise in this film. This is his career-best role and one cannot imagine anyone else playing Sameer's role. His sense of timing and facial expressions are very natural and makes Sameer a very adorable character in the film.The least significant role was of Sameer but Saif made it very important. Now comes the final winner -- Akshaye Khanna. An actor-par excellence and very natural in front of the camera, Akshaye has played the role of Sid to perfection. His emotions and expressive face say a lot. He has given a spell-binding performance. Preity looks great in her new look and has acted well. Sonali Kulkarni is wasted and Dimple Kapadia still looks gorgeous and plays her role well.

Music and the picturisation of the songs flow with the mood of the film. The locales of Sydney and Goa have been brilliantly shot. The first half of the film has some of the light good moments. The second half is filled with emotion though the Aamir-Preity affair has been stretched a lot thus making the film a bit lengthy. But one thing is sure -- Bollywood has got one more talented director in Farhan Akhtar.