Bollywood has a new talking point, and it is all about — Farhan Akhtar acknowledges Dil Chahta Hai’s gender imbalance, DEFENDS its female characters: “The film is about the three boys”. Fans and trade analysts have been closely following every update, and the latest development adds another chapter to what has been an eventful week for Hindi cinema.
The Story So Far
Add as a preferred source on Google Twenty-five years after Dil Chahta Hai arrived in cinemas, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar has reflected on one of the movie’s recurring criticisms: the limited major screen time given to its female characters. While the 2001 movie primarily follows the friendship and growing-up journey of Akash, Sid and Sameer, Akhtar acknowledged that the women did not occupy as much space in the narrative.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Akhtar agreed with the observation but maintained that the female characters were written with agency and were not intended to be passive figures. The movie is about the three boys and they predominantly are on major screen. But none of the female characters was written as weak woman,” Akhtar said.
Akhtar pointed to Dimple Kapadia’s Tara as an example of a part whose importance extended beyond her major screen time. Tara’s relationship with Sid becomes one of the heartfelt threads in the movie and also affects the friendship between the three protagonists. “Dimple’s Tara, to me, had probably the strongest in terms of her effect on the relationship of the three boys.
She, in a way, drives Sid and Akash away from each other,” he said. The filmmaker was referring to the conflict that develops between Akash and Sid after Akash disapproves of Sid’s relationship with Tara. Their disagreement becomes an important turning point in the friendship.
Akhtar also discussed Sonali Kulkarni’s Pooja, who is in a relationship with Sameer. He described her as an independent part who influences Sameer’s understanding of love and marriage. “Pooja, played by Sonali Kulkarni, is an independent woman, who instills the confidence in Sameer that one should marry the person one loves,” he said.
He also pointed to Shalini, played by Deepannita Sharma, whose relationship with her fiancé involves a different kind of conflict. According to Akhtar, Shalini’s response to his objections is expressed through her actions. “Shalini has her own way of fighting back by doing the things that her fiancé is kind of upset about.
It’s almost like a silent protest,” he said. Despite the different relationships and romantic storylines, Dil Chahta Hai remained centred on the friendship between Akash, Sid and Sameer. Akhtar said the movie was designed around their heartfelt growth as they moved beyond their youthful immaturity.
“At the heart of it all, it is a celebration of friendship. It’s also about growing up together. What Dil Chahta Hai really does is it takes the friends from a place of immaturity to a place of maturity,” he explained the publication.
What happens next is anyone's guess, but one thing is certain: this development has added a fresh chapter to an already fascinating entertainment saga. Stay tuned to TeraMovies for all the latest updates from the world of cinema.
