Dil Chahta Hai boasts of a Star Studded Cast

Aamir Khan Saif Ali Khan Akshay Khanna Preity Zinta Dimple Kapadia

Jul 23, 2009

In spite of a high profile cast, Dil Chahta Hai is refreshingly simple, straightforward and down to earth. Director Farhan Akhtar presented a slice of urban life in 2001.

Akash (played by Aamir Khan) is a happy go lucky, willful young man who is determined to steer clear of love and commitment. Sameer (Saif Ali Khan) is happy to flit from one girl to the other. He meets his match literally when his parents try to impose a girl of their own choice on him. He tells the girl that he is not interested, only to fall in love with her later. Siddharth (Akshay Khanna) is the most steadfast of the three, and falls in love with Tara (Dimple Kapadia), a divorced mother. Akash is scornful of any serious involvement and his disdain alienates him from his friend.

Dil Chahta Hai Stars Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Khanna: Journey of Friendship and Love

During a college function, Akash picks on a young girl Shalini (Preity Zinta) on the instigation of his two friends, and goes down on his knees in a mock proposal.

Little did Akash know that his friends had played a prank on him, as they were aware Shalini was already engaged and her fiance would not be pleased at this public display of mock affection.

Akash and Shalini part ways, only to meet again on a flight to Australia. It is in this foreign land that the two become the best of friends as they set out to discover their new surroundings together.

Their time together is short lived, because Shalini's fiance is planning the wedding. It is then that Akash realizes that his feelings toward Shalini have changed.

Despite its thin storyline and predictable end, Dil Chahta Hai is unique for its realistic treatment of relationships. Director Farhan Akhtar makes the film eminently watchable in spite of a slow script and weak plot, but the films suffers due to lack of a real climax. Aamir shines as the willful Akash, (and probably begins a new phase in his career, leaning toward more meaningful roles than in his previous commercial ventures). Saif plays the part of the confused lover unobtrusively and competently. Akshay is tailormade for his role as the silent admirer, and his performance is matched by his love interest played by Dimple Kapadia. Preity Zinta looks and plays her part well.

Any description of the movie would be incomplete without a mention of the soundtrack, a great mix of variety by the trio of Shankar Ehsaan and Loy. In keeping with the director's realistic touch, the songs (mostly playing in the background) enhance, but do not interrupt, the storyline. The only song and dance number Koi Kahe Kehta Rahen, in fact sets the stage for the pivotal Akash Shalini romance.

The copyright of the article Dil Chahta Hai boasts of a Star Studded Cast in Asian Films is owned by Biswita Mozumdar. Permission to republish Dil Chahta Hai boasts of a Star Studded Cast in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.