2001 kind of gave the Hindi cinema audience a new way to view films. Even though popcorn fares like Gadar: Ek Prem Katha and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham made the most noise at the box-office with some record-breaking earnings, it was films like Chandni Bar and Lagaan that showed us there are different things to talk about in films beyond the regular and clichéd love stories and dramas. It was Dil Chahta Hai that brought in the new wave in Hindi cinema in the true sense. It sort of wiped out that difference between fiction and reality with the kind of refreshing viewing experience it provided.
Dil Chahta Hai, till today, is termed as the most popular film on friendship in Hindi cinema. The portrayal of friendship in this one couldn’t get any more real. It was definitely larger than life but very far away from ‘yeh dosti hum nahi todenge’ types and it certainly didn’t give us any false hopes. It beautifully showed us how distances grow between friends once their paths in life become different and how unfortunately it takes a tragedy for a reunion after some bitterness in the relationship. The reason for the friendship falling apart was highly convincing, which makes our connection with the characters even stronger. The kind of personalities we meet in Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan were easily relatable and highly memorable as well.
Dil Chahta Hai almost comes out of the friendship zone in its second half. Romance takes over and Farhan Akhtar serves us three really heartwarming love stories. The love story of Akshaye Khanna and Dimple Kapadia kind of deconstructs the definition of love and gives us a very different perspective of looking at this special emotion. It wasn’t just the love story that was brave but I don’t recollect seeing a heroine who is alcoholic and a divorcee who is loved by a much younger man. Akshaye Khanna literally taught us to love without keeping any expectations from the other person. I was amazed by Farhan Akhtar’s real-life observations/experiences that made him reflect on such a sensitive relationship on screen.
Saif Ali Khan and Sonali Kulkarni’s love story was very contemporary and will continue to remain so irrespective of how old the film becomes. It starts with an obsolete idea of arrange marriage where parents set up the first meet but Saif and Sonali’s idea of commitment is what makes their story special. They are non-judgemental people who want to take their relationship ahead at their own pace. Also, Saif Ali Khan lacking the courage to express his love for Sonali Kulkarni fearing spoiling their friendship spoke the heart and mind of million other boys who experience the same feeling when they start to fall in love.
Aamir Khan and Preity Zinta’s love story was the clichéd one yet it worked. A boy averse to the concept of love later meets a girl (already in a relationship with an over-possessive boyfriend) who makes him understand this emotion. This love story was not very serious and Aamir Khan’s character was slightly problematic but this very fact made the love story convincing. Aamir never says why he didn’t like Samantha Treymane (Deepa) and his reactions upon meeting her every time were very disheartening to watch. Also, him advising Saif Ali Khan to always have an upper hand in his relationship with Suchitra Pillai and defining it as manhood was not really an ideal thing to do. This depicted confusion and unpredictability generally found in men’s behaviour. Aamir telling Preity that he saw the Opera singer when he closed his eyes to find that one person for whom he would sacrifice everything kind of justifies his disbelief in love.
Along with a realistic depiction of friendship and love, Farhan Akhtar served some heart-melting moments in Dil Chahta Hai, exploring various relationships in their truest forms. When Akshaye Khanna, after explaining his feelings to Dimple Kapadia comes back home and asks his mother to join him for his trip to a farmhouse shows that he still prioritizes his mother, who means the world to him over everything else. Ayub Khan’s father advising Preity Zinta not to marry his son just to return their favour and Saif Ali Khan’s mother not really forcing marriage with Sonali Kulkarni, after their first meet tells us how nothing matters to the parents than the happiness of their children. Aamir Khan mistakenly calling Akshaye Khanna gives us tears of pure joy.
One thing about Dil Chahta Hai (apart from the film itself) that continues to make us smile even today is the heavily refreshing soundtrack composed by the supremely talented trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. This one undoubtedly remains to be one of their finest composed albums. The album was a complete package with a song for every possible mood. Though dominated by the flavour of romance the different versions of the title track got the right beat and the line ‘hum hain naye andaaz kyu ho purana’ from Koi Kahe explained the true vibe of the film. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics sounded more like conversations and had a perfect blend of poetic words and the ordinary common man talks. Every song in the film enhanced the narrative be it the songs with dream sequences like Kaisi Hai Ye Ruth and Woh Ladki Hai Kahan and also the rest of the others playing in real-time.
Dil Chahta Hai pleasantly surprised us with some memorable performances from its leading actors. Aamir Khan though largely chauvinistic is also seen at his most vulnerable moment when he breaks down after a phone call with his father. He was constantly funny but when he became serious there was something in his performance that made us deeply connect with his character. Saif Ali Khan came as a real surprise who made Sameer so lively and memorable with his natural wit and charm. This character was just another guy but probably the most relatable one. He was that friend who becomes the pacifier and probably has the most sorted life in every sense. Akshaye Khanna brings in the required maturity with his fairly intense performance in this fun atmosphere. He was someone who grew up faster than required (probably the result of being brought up by a single parent) to understand the complexities of life in a better manner. Else he would not have expressed his feelings for Dimple Kapadia the way he did in the film.
Dil Chahta Hai looked and felt very close to reality. The way dialogues were written with an appropriate blend of English sounded like the language of the generation its protagonists belonged to. They also didn’t look like they were styled for a film as their clothes looked very realistic including the ladies in the film. Not much thought was given that at a few instances the colour of characters clothes was similar to the wall behind them. It was just a way of telling that the characters in the frame are just like its viewers who don’t really bother about these things. The film didn’t try hard to be fashionable for any reason. In fact, Farhan Akhtar created his own style of filmmaking with Dil Chahta Hai which no one has managed to match with yet. This one will always remain in fashion and we will forever continue to love it.
meri maaa, CINEMAAA 