Farhan Akhtar celebrates 25 years of Dil Chahta Hai: ‘Can’t believe it’s been 25 years’

Farhan Akhtar celebrated 25 years of his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai, expressing gratitude to audiences for keeping the film relevant. The cult classic, starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna, remains a landmark in Hindi cinema.

Mumbai: As his debut film “Dil Chahta Hai” celebrates its silver jubilee, filmmaker-actor and singer Farhan Akhtar said he cannot believe it’s been 25 years and added that the characters Akash, Sameer and Sid don’t look like they’ve aged a day.

Farhan shared the film’s poster with a text overlay, which read: “CELEBRATING 25-YEARS- OF LAUGHTER, FRIENDSHIP AND UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES.”

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He captioned the post: “Can’t believe it’s been 25 years.. Akash, Sameer and Sid don’t look like they’ve aged a day!!!! Heart filled with gratitude to you, the audience, for keeping it alive and still relevant. Big hug.”

“Dil Chahta Hai” stars Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Akshaye Khanna along with Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia. The coming-of-age comedy drama follows three inseparable college friends navigating adulthood, relationships, and diverging life paths.

Set in contemporary urban India, the film explores themes of friendship, love, and self-discovery among upper-class youth.

Akhtar wrote the film based on personal diaries detailing his experiences travelling to different cities, with inputs on the story from creative associate Kassim Jagmagia. Shot on location in India and Australia.

It has since achieved cult status and is regarded as a landmark in Hindi cinema for redefining youth narratives and contemporary storytelling.

Talking about Farhan, after he made his directorial debut with ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ in 2001, he followed it up with acclaimed directorial ventures such as ‘Lakshya’ and ‘Don’.

As an actor, Farhan made his debut with ‘Rock On!!’ in 2008, and then went on to star in successful films including ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, ‘Dil Dhadakne Do’, ‘Wazir’, ‘Luck By Chance’, ‘The Sky Is Pink’ and ‘Toofaan’.

In July, Farhan celebrated five years of his sports drama Toofaan and wrote: “5 years since the storm took over. Celebrating #5YearsOfToofaan.’

The film stars Farhan Akhtar in the lead role as Aziz Ali, alongside Mrunal Thakur, Paresh Rawal, Supriya Pathak, Hussain Dalal and Vijay Raaz in pivotal roles.