20 years of Dil Chahta Hai: 5 reasons why the film was ahead of its time

It was 20 years ago that Bollywood gave us a film that would continue to be an all-time favourite for many. As Dil Chahta Hai turns 20, let’s recall why we fell for this absolute masterpiece that was way ahead of its time.

A star cast

We’ll give one to Dil Chahta Hai for its impeccable cast. Starring Akshaye Khanna, Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan, the film’s characters were perfectly balanced and complemented each other with their fundamental characteristics. While Aamir’s Akash was suave and fun, Akshaye’s Sid brought calm to his chaos with his pensive, goody-two-shoes demeanour. Saif Ali Khan’s character was just the quintessential friend needed to fit the puzzle – caught between the two but closer to both nonetheless. The reliability of the trio is what majorly attracted the viewers.

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Smashing Bollywood tropes

Who would have imagined that a film almost two decades old would go beyond the Bollywood trope of a young girl meets an older guy? Dil Chahta Hai featured a love story between a 20-something boy and an older divorced woman played by Dimple Kapadia. The fact that this kind of relationship is still not normalised, goes a long way to prove that Dil Chahta Hai was non-conformist and far ahead of its time.

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Women standing out

Despite the film being male-centric, female characters – from Preity Zinta to Dimple Kapadia – were impressive and clearly stood out. They brought gravitas from their industry experience to the film and made themselves known even with limited screen time.

Changing the cinema game

Until Dil Chahta hai was released, Bollywood fanatics were obsessed with larger-than-life action heroes. However, the Farhan Akhtar directorial changed the Bollywood game by bringing cool boys to the mix. The closer-to-reality portrayal of these characters made it easier for the audience to relate and cherish for a long time.

The background score

Saying the background score of the film was good will be an understatement. Given by the iconic trio Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, Dil Chahta Hai’s background score brought to life its imaginative cinematography. Forget Hangover, it was the Dil Chahta Hai trio that was loved and shipped long before that.