Dil Chahta Hai (2001)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Farhan Akhtar

Writers:

Farhan Akhtar (story)
Kassim Jagmagia (story)

Release Date:

24 July 2001 (India)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Alcoholic | Divorce | End Of Friendship | Art Gallery

Awards:

21 wins & 36 nominations

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)

Also Known As:

Do Your Thing (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

183 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | Urdu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:PG | Singapore:PG | Malaysia:U | India:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Australia

Company:

Excel Entertainment

Trivia:

Shiney Ahuja was almost cast in the role of Siddharth.

Quotes:

Akash Malhotra: Dad, there is more to life than just signing checks.
Akash's father: Really... What is that?
Akash Malhotra: I don't know, but as soon as I do, you will be the first to know.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)

Soundtrack:

Koi kahe kehta rahe

Beginning of a new generation of Bollywood films

Before getting into the details, I must admit that this is certainly one of the best and most entertaining films I have ever seen!

RATING: ****1/2 out of *****

Plot ---- The story is about three very good friends and their relationships with each other. Aamir Khan plays a sociable and mischievous Akash, Saif Ali Khan plays a confused, often 'love-struck' Sameer and Akshaye Khanna plays a mature, confident Siddharth or Sid. Preity Zinta plays Shalini - Akash's love interest, though throughout the film Akash claims that he does not believe in love. Sonali Kulkarni plays Pooja with whom Sameer finally (really) falls in love and Dimple Kapadia is Tara Jaiswal, a divorced middle-aged alcholic. Thats all one needs to know about the film because right from the first reel the viewer is absorbed into the story and learns about each character.

Review ------ Full credit must go to the director Farhan Akhtar who has broken many of the Bollywood production norms in order to make a technically perfect and enjoyable film. It would be unfair to call Aamir Khan the life of the DCH though his popularity in India and abroad would have drawn a substantial part of the film's audience. He gives a brilliant performance as usual as Akash. His scenes with Akshaye Khanna and some scenes shot in Australia (Opera, phone call to Sid, etc) are mind-blowing! SAif Ali Khan is the surprise packet of Dil Chahta Hai and there is a lot of untapped talent in him especially where comedy roles are concerned. But I felt that the best performance came from Akshaye Khanna who plays the character of Sid to perfection. His mannerisms, thinking, behaviour is very authentic and makes us all identify with his character closely. Preity Zinta looks gorgeous and is her usual chirpy self. Sonali Kulkarni could have certainly looked better without all that makeup. Dimple Kapadia shows how a good role can bring out an elegant performance from a seasoned actress.

The best aspect of Dil Chahta Hai other than the actors' performances was the music. This is hopefully the start of more non-run of the mill compositions in Bollywood. Ofcourse, I hope for a lot more compositions like these from the music directors Shankar-Eshaan-Loy. The title song was the best and gels really well with this trndy film. Other good songs are 'Jaane Kyon', 'Kaise HAi yeh Rut' and 'Tanhayee'. 'Woh ladki hai kahan' - a parody of old Hindi songs is simply hillarious. The lyrics provided by the director's father, veteran Javed Akhtar are simply amazing and complement the story of the film to perfection!

Overall, a very entertaining feature and I hope to see more films like these in the near future. Three cheers to Farhan Akhtar and his team!!!