‘Still Relevant’: Farhan Akhtar Celebrates 25 Years Of ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ With Special Post

AKD 2 min read

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Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut “Dil Chahta Hai” completed 25 years this week, and the filmmaker-actor-singer marked the silver jubilee with a heartfelt tribute to the cult classic and the audiences who have kept it alive.

Celebrating the milestone, Farhan shared the film’s poster on Instagram with a text overlay reading: “CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF LAUGHTER, FRIENDSHIP AND UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES.”

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”, written and directed by Akhtar, featured Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia in lead roles. Released in 2001, the coming-of-age comedy-drama follows three inseparable college friends — Akash, Sameer and Sid — as they navigate adulthood, relationships, and diverging life paths after graduation.

Set in contemporary urban India, the film explored themes of friendship, love, and self-discovery among upper-class youth. Akhtar reportedly based the screenplay on personal diaries documenting his travels across different cities, with story inputs from creative associate Kassim Jagmagia. Shot on location across India and Australia, the film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and has since achieved cult status, widely regarded as a landmark in Hindi cinema for redefining youth narratives and contemporary storytelling.

Notably, on the same day, Farhan and business partner Ritesh Sidhwani announced the launch of ‘Excel Origins’, a new chapter in Excel Entertainment aimed at discovering and supporting emerging storytellers. The initiative will focus on filmmakers under 30, identifying young directors and writers with distinctive voices, and offering them platform, resources, and creative freedom across genres and formats.

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