Farhan Akhtar in the recent episode of Sit With Hitlist revealed that his initial choice of casting for Dil Chahta Hai, and it did not have Aamir, Akshaye, or Saif. He also opened up about including real-life incidents in the film
Farhan Akhtar on Dil Chahta Hai
Dil Chahta Hai is a cult classic that remains nostalgic and af for many even today, 24 years later. It’s hard to believe that it was directed by a 25-year-old, making his directorial debut. Farhan Akhtar made big waves when the film was released in 2001. During his recent appearance on mid-day’s Sit With Hitlist, Farhan revealed that the iconic trio of Akshayee, Aamir, and Saif was never the first choice for the film. He also opened up about a real-life event, which he added to the film.
Farhan Akhtar on adding a real-life event to the film
Farhan revealed he was writing a book consisting of a bunch of anecdotes from his time spent in Goa. He reveals, “I was writing that, but never got written. I never completed it. I have no idea where it is, it was on one of the PC from 1997 or 1998.” He added that he, in fact, incorporated a lot of that into the film.
Recalling the bits he incorporated, he shares, “At one point suffered some serious heartbreak in Goa. And I remember I had to drive back all alone. We had driven there together, but I had to drive back alone. I know what that very painful journey of driving back from Goa alone is like, which I made into a funny thing when Saif had to come back. So little bits and pieces like that were in the film.”
Farhan Akhtar about the initial choices for Dil Chahta Hai
During the chat, Farhan recalled how Saif Ali Khan had backed out of Dil Chahta Hai just 10 days before going on floors. He shared how Aamir Khan advised him that if Saif did not return, he would do the part.
Questioned if Aamir saw the acting spark in him, he says, “He had no such feeling. His only feeling was that nobody else would understand this part like you're understanding it.” “I'm only really, really thankful that he didn't (back out).”
Further sharing his thoughts and dream cast while writing the film, he shared, “In that moment and at that time, I remember very clearly, I had this dream cast in my head that I wanted but didn't happen, which was Akshayee (Khanna), Hrithik (Roshan), and Abhishek (Bachchan).”
Revealing why he wanted the three, he said, “It's a young film about these three young guys. They've just, they're about to debut. When I was writing, the two of them had not even debuted yet. Akshayee had, but Hrithik and Abhishek had not debuted. I knew they were acting in their first films. I knew he (Abhishek) was doing Refugee, and I knew he (Hrithik) was doing Kaho Na Pyaar. So I thought it would be amazing to get these three guys together.”
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