Writer/Director: Farhan Akhtar
Starring: Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan
‘A Magnificent Masterpiece’
Friendships are fragile relationships which are often destined to face hardships. It’s difficult to maintain a strong friendship throughout course of life. A crucial life process, friendships can be hard to maintain in life with success. From a personal point-of-view, I’ve often found friendships to be relationships that are hard to maintain. I vividly remember forming friends with a kid in school that I grew up to treasure. We enjoyed playing soccer creating a powerful bond with each other. Initially, there was no sign to suggest that our relationship would ever decline. However, all of a sudden our bond came to a sudden closure. No longer the friend that I had grown up to adore, he became a stranger that I didn’t recognize anymore. He told me upfront that he was no longer interested in meeting me on a daily basis anymore. It was heartbreaking to break ties with a friend that I had grown up to idolize. Several years later, I learned the harsh lesson that friendships are relationships that are seldom meant to last forever. Today, I have accepted that friendships come with a price to pay.
Few movies I’ve ever seen have captured the commemorated roles that friends play in lives of people as powerfully as “Dil Chahta Hai”. Ever since its release in 2001, Farhan Akhtar’s Bollywood musical has stood the test of time as a classic. Akhtar’s film offered a beautiful depiction of friendships in India that often face hardships. Packed with breathtaking production-design, engaging storytelling and phenomenal performances, it’s one of the greatest Bollywood movies ever made. At the centre of it all is an exceptional performance from Aamir Khan, who embodies a college graduate that values friendships in his life. Ultimately, the film delivers a universal message about friendships that would resonate with everyone. Viewers aren’t required to be fans of Bollywood to appreciate it. A mesmerizing masterpiece about friendships, there are several strong reasons why “Dil Chahta Hai” is a classic film that’s definitely worth watching.
Set in Mumbai, “Dil Chahta Hai” tells the story of a friendship between three comrades which comes with a price to pay. Aamir Khan portrays Akash, a college graduate seeking purpose in his life. Akash is an outgoing young man sharing a strong friendship with his two comrades Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) and Sid (Akshaye Khanna). The three friends always share an unbreakable bond spending baluable time together that they come to treasure. At first, it seems as if their friendship can never be torn apart. However, when they each fall in love their different attitude about relationships causes their strong friendship to face disaster. Facing a dilemma, Akash questions whether it’s truly possible to maintain lasting friendships with comrades in India. As he seeks romantic relationships, Akash’s commemorated friendships begin facing hardships.
Farhan Akhtar is a newcomer towards stories of friendships. As a first-time filmmaker, Akhtar had never made a movie about friendships in his career before. It was the filmmaker’s first attempt to capture the lives of friends in India, but he succeeded tremendously. Using spellbinding cinematography, Akhtar captures the bonds between three friends embarking on a journey. For a first-time filmmaker from India, Akhtar demonstrated strong control behind the camera. Akhtar successfully uses montages to capture the strong bond between three friends embarking on an unforgettable journey. For instance, montages elevate the Goa trip scene. During this unforgettable scene, Akash and his friends embark on a road trip to Goa to spend time together. One appreciates montages capturing the strong bonds between three friends seeking to make their dreams come true. It brought back joyful memories of my strong bond with a friend which shaped my identity. Montages are complicated techniques to use in Bollywood movies. Nevertheless, they work immensely in this movie. Through stunning visuals, Akhtar captures dreams friends are pursuing.
Another admirable aspect of “Dil Chahta Hai” is the production-design. From a technical perspective, the film is extremely well-made. Akhtar effectively uses real-life locations in India to capture the strong bonds between a pair of inseparable friends. Throughout the movie, real-life locations in India showcase powerful bonds between friends that pursue dreams they are passionate about. For instance, the real-life Indian locations elevate the fort scene. During this memorable scene, the three friends spend time bonding together in Goa’s fort. One appreciates the backdrops of forts capturing the strong bonds between a pair of friends. Through these strong locations, Akhtar captures beauty of India as a country where friendships come true. Furthermore, the musical score is magnificent. Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s score is integral towards the success of the film. It gives the film a joyous atmosphere capturing the powerful bonds between friends that care. Through stunning production-design, Akhtar captures strong bonds between friends that rarely decline.
Storytelling is one of the main reasons why “Dil Chahta Hai” is an Indian classic which remains enduring. The film is beautifully written, and successfully uses scenes of silence to capture bonds between friends falling apart. Akhtar’s screenwriting strength is capturing friendships declining through a use of silence. Throughout the movie, silence is used to showcase bonds between a pair of close friends falling apart. For instance, scenes of silence elevate the friends breakup scene. During this memorable scene, Akash adopts a silent attitude refusing to talk with friends after engaging in a tense argument. Through these scenes of silence, Akhtar crafts compelling Indian characters which audiences can easily relate to. Silence is a tricky technique to use in Indian movies. In Bollywood, movies are driven by loud song and dance numbers with little room for subtlety. Nevertheless, it works immensely in this movie. Through a fantastic screenplay, Akhtar creates a realistic portrait of commemorated bonds between a pair of Indian friends facing a price to pay.
One appreciates astonishing performances.
Aamir Khan delivers one of his finest career performances as Akash. Khan first achieved recognition for playing romantic heartthrobs. With “Dil Chahta Hai”, however, he took on his most complex role. It isn’t easy to embody the personality of a man facing broken friendships which fall apart suddenly, but he succeeded. It’s a role which gave Khan the opportunity to showcase his natural charisma as an actor. With mesmerizing expressions, he captures the angst, fear and compassionate nature of a young Indian man which cares deeply about his friendships. It’s a powerful performance that launched the successful career of one of the greatest actors working in Bollywood today.
The supporting cast is sensational and worthy of praise. Saif Ali Khan is spectacular, capturing the larger-than-life personality of a young man seeking to repair friendships with comrades which have fallen apart suddenly. Akshaye Khanna is astonishing, capturing the sensitive nature of an aspiring artist that pursues a strong passion for painting helping him cope with friendships declining. Lastly, Preity Zinta deserves appreciation. As a woman caught amidst a broken romantic relationship, she brings humanity to the movie.
Finally, “Dil Chahta Hai” will earn the appreciation of everyone for capturing friendships which come with a painful price to pay. Unlike most Indian movies, it tackles universal themes everyone will relate to. The film discusses timely themes including friendships, career and identity which would definitely resonate with everyone. It delivers a universal message about friendships which would definitely strike chords with everyone. As someone that has faced broken friendships in my past, I related deeply to the movie’s message. Therefore, “Dil Chahta Hai” is one of those rare Bollywood movies which everyone would adore.
Fans of Aamir Khan will definitely appreciate “Dil Chahta Hai” and so will movie-goers seeking meaningful entertainment. A mesmerizing Indian masterpiece, it captures friendships being fragile relationships that often face risks of declining.
Nearly 30 years following the release of a groundbreaking Indian film about three companions struggling to find their way discovering that friendships come with a painful price to pay, it’s a riveting reminder of the roles friends play in the lives of individuals living in India affecting their way of living that could contribute towards a greater understanding about the culture of one of the world’s most misunderstood countries today.
5/5 stars
The Film Buff 
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