Dil Chahta Hai turns 18: As Preity Zinta thanks makers for a memorable film, here are 10 lesser-known facts

Actor Preity Zinta took to Instagram to post a note on the completion of 18 years of Dil Chahta Hai, the film that launched the multi-faceted Farhan Akhtar as a director. Made i n 2001, the film is still fresh in public memory and has since become a contemporary classic.

Dil Chahta Hai starred Aamir Khan, Akshay Khanna and Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta and Sonali Kulkarni, with Dimple Kapadia in a special role. The film, which offered a young perspective on love and friendship, had a huge connect with the youth.

On its 18th anniversary of Dil Chahta Hai, here’s a look at some lesser known facts from the film and its making:

1) Aamir, Akshaye and Saif Ali Khan were not the first choice. Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan and Akshaye Khanna were Farhan’s first choice. After Hrithik and Abhishek could not be available for the film, Farhan reportedly waited for 10 months for an appointment with Aamir Khan. Once, Aamir was in, Akshaye (who was originally meant to play the character Akash) and he swapped roles.

2) Farhan first meant Preity in Mumbai when she had come for a screen test for Kya Kehna. Reportedly, he had told her that whenever he would make a film, she would be in it. When Preity did eventually hear the script, she had joked that Farhan was making an all-boys’ chauvinistic film.

Also read: Rahul Bose shocked as five-star charges Rs 442 for 2 bananas, Twitter asks if they were coated in gold

3) For the song Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan, Saif was asked to wear a red shirt and white trousers in ’80s-style fashion. However, he put his foot down when asked to wear a pair of white shoes for the song.

4) Shalini (Preity) and Akash (Aamir) were suppose to fall in love in New York. However, it was winters around the time of the shoot and hence the shoot happened in Australia.

5) Asad Dandekar, who played Subodh, Pooja’s (Sonali Kulkarni) boyfriend in the film, is a friend of Farhan. Akash’s character is influenced by his personality.

6) The storyline of the film emerged from Farhan’s diary entries from his trip to Las Vagas and his stint in New York. It also had parts of a story narrated to him by his friend.

7) The phrase ‘chamkeele din’ almost didn’t make to the final cut of the title track of the film as Farhan felt it has a strong association with detergent. In the song Jaane Kyun, Farhan felt ‘pyaar ke ghaat’ sounded funny but his father Javed Akhtar, who penned the songs, asked him to trust him with it and it worked!

8) Saif was on the verge of opting out of the film as it was to be made in sync sound, and actors weren’t required to dub for it.

9) For the song Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan, the basic idea of the video was choreographer Farah Khan but the concept of a film within a film was that costume designer, Arjun Bhasin.

10) The film’s script and dialogues were written entirely in English.

Follow @htshowbiz for more