Dil Chahtha Hai is a primarily about three guys, Akaash, Siddharth and Sameer. All three are from well to do families and they are shown to be the best of friends. They party together, travel together and have fun. Akaash does not really believe in love, he’s more of a realist who believes he has no time to romance. Sameer has time only to fall in and out of love, everytime he falls in love he strives hard to keep it glowing but alas, it never works. Siddharth is an artist with the third eye, he sees what normal people don’t see. He lives in a world of his own and is the type of guy even if we’ve known for years would still not have known him, paradoxically.
The usual stuff that happens between college students like parties, date fundas, crushes, jokes are shown superbly in this movie. The friendship hit’s a speedbreaker when Siddharth begins to develop feelings for an older women, Tara, who’s a divorcee with a grown up child who comes to live in Akaash’s locality and has an eye for art and alcohol. Akaash and Siddharth get distanced over a freak remark by Akaash over their relationship and the movie treads a new course from here. Siddharth takes up art full time, Sameer get’s into business with his Dad and so does Akaash.
Akaash goes to Australia where he meets Shalini with whom he’s already blooped a meeting in a graduation party when in college. Akaash get’s into business professionally & personally and in the process he finds himself inextricably in love with Shalini who’s already engaged with Rohit, an arrogant and overtly possessive son of Shalini’s father’s business partner, why she wants to marry him is also shown in the movie, a la Hindi film style. Meanwhile, Sameer finds love in Pooja after turning down a proposal to marry her because he was averse to the idea of an arranged marriage.
The story actually begins with Tara being taken to a hospital where she is waiting her death on account of a damaged liver. It progresses from there where all these items are presented in flashback sequences. Tara dies leaving Siddharth broken hearted, Akaash apologises to Siddharth and the three become friends again, and if you thought this is where the story ended you just jumped the gun. Months later Siddharth finds love in the form of Akaash’s ex-flame Deepa and all’s well end’s well.
I usually don’t like to spell out the story of a movie but this movie’s highlight is in the way the characters are presented on screen, how they behave and strike a rapport with the audiences. Another reason for making the story public was because this is a fairly old movie. DCH’s team has done a lot of study in etching the characters, we can find very real characters one notable example apart from the main cast being Priya, a cameo by ex-VJ Suchitra Pillai. She simply lives her role exhibiting the upperclass aura that we can usually see around.
There are some scenes that require special mention, one being Akaash’s phone call to Sameer asking him to put him on to Siddharth to apologise. Akaash’s transition from a joker to a serious viewer in an Opera house with Shalini. Akaash, Sameer and Siddharth sitting on a wall of a ruins of a fort in Goa. The most hilarious scene is when Sameer who’s dating a foreigner Christine in Goa is shown groaning and moaning in a bedroom with all kinds of dress and lingerie strewn around, no, it’s not what you are thinking!!!
Director Farhan Akthar has created a mark for him with his debut, his innovative style of presenting the story needs special mention. Editing by Sreekar Prasad is good, very smooth. Ravi K Chandran’s camera work is more than excellent, it’s fabulous. There’s a dominant color tone to signify the youthful feel of the movie. Nakul Kamte has done superb work with the sound, we have lot’s of silences and the foley artists have filled in the gaps. Shot using sync sound, the result is stunning.
Music of this movie is one of the best that came out that year, credits must go to Shankhar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani & Loy Mendonsa for the songs and scintillating background scores. The background scores are a mix of techno-rock, piano-flute-guitar pieces and they are apt and mesmerising. Aamir Khan as Akaash, Saif Ali Khan as Sameer, Akshaye Khanna as Siddharth, Preity Zinta as Shalini, Sonali Kulkarni as Pooja, Dimple Kapadia as Tara gell into their role quite perfectly. Dimple Kapadia has got the most intense eyes in the film industry but this performance is not a superlative one, just the usual one.
Overall this was the best movie to have released then, if you have not seen it then you have missed great entertainment.
[Published originally on the 30th of December 2002 on mouthshut.com]
