It all started 17 years ago. A then not-so-popular Farhan Akhtar came up with the script for Dil Chahta Hai (2001). A movie that went on to change the idiom of Bollywood friendships forever. The story of three close friends and their messed up lives connected well with the generation and continues to be viewed and enjoyed even 17 years later. Dil Chahta Hai can truly be regarded as the game changer for mainstream Hindi cinema. The slice-of-life film did away with the single hero-heroine stereotype.

It was relatable and spoke the jargon of the youth and addressed their concerns and conflicts. Like the scene in which Saif Ali Khan tries to argue with his girlfriend without ever being able to even complete a sentence. The chemistry between Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna was real and textured. On the occasion of Dil Chahta Hai competing 17 years since its release, we list down 17 lesser known facts about the cult drama…

1.Farhan Akhtar met up with Preity Zinta when she came to Mumbai for the screen test of her film Kya Kehna. At that time, he told her that whenever he’d make a film, he’d like her to be in it.

2.The original trio was supposed to include Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan and Akshaye Khanna.

3.After Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan refused the project, Farhan Akhtar had to wait for close to 10 months to get an appointment with Aamir Khan to discuss the project.

4.Akshaye Khanna was originally supposed to play the character of Akash. But, when Aamir Khan came on board, they swapped the roles.

5.Saif Ali Khan almost pulled out of the film since the film was to be made in sync sound instead of the actors dubbing their lines.

6.Farhan Akhtar, Javed Akhtar and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy travelled to Lonavala together and returned with the title song fully written and composed in four days.

7.The words ‘chamkeele din’ almost didn’t make it into the title song because Farhan Akhtar thought it sounded like detergent.

8.Before  Dil Chahta Hai, Farhan Akhtar also directed the music video of Shankar Mahadevan's popular song, Breathless.

9.On their day off, choreographer Farah Khan unintentionally set off the fire alarm in the hotel the crew were staying in because she was cooking biryani in her room.

10.Preity Zinta loved the song Koi kahe kehta rahe so much that she insisted being part of it even though her character in the film did not attend the same college as the gang.

11.Karan Johar did not expect the movie to do well and felt that Aamir Khan had ‘lost the plot’ when he chose to act in it.

12.The first time Preity Zinta heard the script, she joked about it with Farhan saying that he was making a chauvinistic all-boys film.

13.Farhan was one of the assistant directors on Akshaye Khanna’s debut film, Himalay Putra.

14.Farhan suggested that he would love to make the sequel of the movie with an all-female cast.

15.Asad Dadarkar, the man who played Subodh in the film, was actually Farhan's close friend and had a major influence over Akash's character.

16.While the entire crew used to party after pack-up, Aamir preferred staying back in his room and played chess online.
The dialogue and the script was originally written entirely in English.

17.The dialogue and the script was originally written entirely in English.

More on: Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna

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