10 reasons why we still heart Dil Chahta Hai

Believe it or not! It has been 15 years since Farhan Akhtar’s cult directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai hit the theaters on this day in 2001. The movie changed the face of Indian cinema. It gave rise to a different brand of urban, sleek, cool buddy flicks with contemporary jargon and issues. And became a template for several urban dramas since then. Read on why Dil Chahta Hai still makes you miss a heartbeat…

Flawed and real characters

Aamir Khan as Aakash, the rich kid who dismisses love, Saif Ali Khan as Sameer, the romantic and Akshaye Khanna as Sid, the sensitive one, all three lent a distinct and real colour to their characters. Preity Zinta as Shalini, the girl-who-believes-in-love-stories and Sonali Kulkarni as the no-nonsense Pooja were a revelation. The young generation immediately found a connect with the lead players.

The writing

Farhan Akhtar’s writing and dialogue was contemporary and appealed to the urban youth. It was their jargon, their emotion.

Go Goa

The boys driving from Mumbai to Goa… was one trip we still envy. The Chapora Fort in Goa’s Bardez has never appeared so intriguing. Farhan Akhtar is somewhere responsible for increasing the footfalls in the beach town.

A supportive supporting cast

The leads were supported by brilliant actors - Rajat Kapoor as Preity Zinta's cool Mahesh uncle based in Sydney, Dimple Kapadia as the middle-aged divorcee with a drinking problem, Suhasini Mulay as Akshaye's mother, Suchitra Pillai as Saif’s controlling girlfriend and Ayub Khan as Preity’s over possessive fiancé.

Humorous dialogue

“Ya toh dosti gehri hai, yaa phir yeh photo 3D hai" to explain the depth of one’s friendship, “Aaj Pooja, kal koi dooja,” "Kya kar raha hai yaar, mard ban... be a man," "Iska matlab hum teeno Sydney jaa rahe hai... tum, main aur yeh plane" or “Hum cake khane ke liye kahin bhi jaa sakte hai” had the audiences rolling with laughter. Above all how can we forget Sameer’s legendary dialogue, “Lagta hai uska bathroom jane ka time ho gaya hai,” when Pooja’s time-obsessed boyfriend Subodh goes to the washroom!

Zingy music

The solemn Tanhayi, the groovy Koi kahe kehta rahe, the peppy Dil Chahta Hai, the sweet Woh ladki hai kahan, the catchy Jaane kyon or even the dreamy Kaisi hai yeh rut not only proved the genius of composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy but also the versatility of Javed Akhtar. And it’s never too old to dance to "Jisse dhoondta hoon main har kahin, Jo kabhi mili mujhe hai nahin, Mujhe jiske pyaar par ho yakeen, Woh ladki hai kahan," while mimicking that flapping arms step.

The mushy proposal

Aakash gatecrashing Shalini’s wedding to go down on his knees and mouth the lines, ‘Mujhe yakeen hai ki main sirf is liye janma hoon ki tumse pyar kar sakun... tum sirf is liye, ki ek din meri ban jao,’ still makes us teary.

The cinematography

Dil Chahta Hai was shot in Mumbai, Goa, and Australia. Thanks to Ravi K. Chandran’s cinematography it was poetry on canvas.

Adhuna Akhtar’s hairstyling

Be it Aamir's spiked hair and goatee or Preity's long, crimpy hairdo, Adhuna Akhtar’s new-age hairstyling gave hair its due in charactersiation in Hindi cinema.

Subodh

Subodh (actor Azad Dadarkar), Pooja’s time-bound boyfriend was a character that evoked the most laughs. His life is all about dates and time. He sleeps at 10 pm, wakes up at 5 am, does yoga, has breakfast at 8 am… and even buys a heart-shaped balloon for her everyday from the traffic signal!