Dil Chahta Hai
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| Dil Chahta Hai | |
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| Directed by | Farhan Akhtar |
| Written by | Farhan Akhtar, Kassim Jagmagia |
| Starring | Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, Dimple Kapadia |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Running time | 183 min |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | INR 200,000,000 (estimated) |
Dil Chahta Hai (Hindī: िदल चाहता है, Urdū: دل چاہتا ہے, translation: The Heart Desires, but billed as Do Your Thing) is a 2001 Bollywood movie. It was directed by Farhan Akhtar and was a hit in cities in India and overseas. Those who liked it said it broke new ground by showing Indian youth as they are today.
The characters depicted are upper-class and cosmopolitan. They live in lavish houses, wear designer clothes, attend art exhibitions and performances of Western opera, and travel overseas as a matter of course. Some critics say that this is why the film did not do well in the non-urban areas; the lifestyle depicted was just too city oriented.
The style of the film and its setting was well appreciated. One song sequence recapitulates Bollywood dance history; one song drops the usual dance accompaniment and establishes the character's state of mind through lyrics and a moody photo collage. There is an extended opera sequence and a song-and-dance inside a painting. The director is tweaking Bollywood conventions in a knowing way.
The film's style extended to the music, by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. Many film fans thought that the music was fresh and different.
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[edit] Synopsis
The movie tells the story of three friends graduating from college and transitioning into life as adults.
Each character has a different outlook towards life, and love in particular:
- Akash (played by Aamir Khan) does not believe in love and says that one should never keep a girlfriend for more than two weeks.
- Sameer (played by Saif Ali Khan) is genial, well-meaning, desperately romantic and confused. He is prone to romantic infatuations; he is convinced that he has found true love whenever he is attracted to a girl.
- Siddharth, or Sid, (played by Akshaye Khanna} is a painter. He is the most serious of them all; dedicated to his work and not interested in trivial romances.
Akash is not only a cad in his personal life (breaking hearts, proposing to a girl named Shalini in jest), but a mischief-maker in his friends' lives. He engineers a breakup between Sameer and Sameer's girlfriend, then proposes a vacation trip to the beaches of Goa.
Sameer, predictably, falls in "love" in Goa, with a pretty Swiss girl, a story that ends in disaster. He returns home to find that his parents have arranged a meeting with a potential marriage prospect. He resists as he doesn't want an arranged marriage, but the instant he sees the girl, he decides that she is the one. Unfortunately, she already has a boyfriend. Sameer has to hide his unrequited love and content himself with her friendship.
Sid, in the meantime, is falling in love too. Tara (played by Dimple Kapadia), an older divorcee, moves in next door. Sid befriends her and falls in love with her despite the associated social taboo. Everything goes wrong. Akash's offensive remarks about this relationship create a rift in their friendship and Sid and Akash refuse to talk to each other. Sid's mother is horrified. Tara hears that Sid has quarrelled with friends and family because of her and feeling that she has ruined his life, refuses to see him.
Akash is also experiencing romantic upheaval. His parents send him to Sydney, to work in the family business. On the flight to Sydney, he meets Shalini again. She has no reason to trust or like him, but after they run into each other repeatedly, they both start to feel a certain "something." She presses him to tell her how he feels; he refuses. She then declares that she is returning to India to marry. Akash lets her go, then realizes that he can't live without her.
All three friends have fallen in love and all of them have -- so far -- been unlucky in love. Is there a happy Bollywood ending? For two of the characters, yes. For one, no. However, in the last scene of the movie, it is suggested that there is hope even for the heart-broken character.
[edit] 2002 Filmfare Awards
The film was nominated for thirteen Filmfare Awards. The awards it won and nominated for are listed below:
[edit] Won
- Best Supporting Actor - Akshaye Khanna.
- Best Comedian - Saif Ali Khan.
- Critics Award Best Movie - Farhan Akhtar.
- Best Screenplay - Farhan Akhtar.
- Best Choreography - Farah Khan.
- Best Editing - A. Sreekar Prasad.
- RD Burman Award for New Music Talent - Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy. [1]
[edit] Nominated
- Best Actor - Aamir Khan.
- Best Movie - Farhan Akhtar.
- Best Director - Farhan Akhtar.
- Best Music Director - Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy.
- Best Male Playback - Shaan, "Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe".
- Best Female Playback - Alka Yagnik, "Jaane Kyon".
[edit] Cast
| Character's name | Played by |
|---|---|
| Akash | Aamir Khan |
| Sameer | Saif Ali Khan |
| Siddharth | Akshay Kanna |
| Shalini | Preity Zinta |
| Pooja | Sonali Kulkarni |
| Tara Jaiswal | Dimple Kapadia |
[edit] Trivia
- The director of the film, Farhan Akhtar is the son of well-known lyricist Javed Akhtar and storywriter Honey Irani.
- In this film Aamir sported trendy short-cropped, gelled, and spiked hair. This started a trend of sporting unconventional hairstyles among the Indian youth. [2], [3], [4], [5], [6].
- The role of Pooja was first offered to Isha Koppikar, who refused it. It was later done by Sonali Kulkarni
