Farhan Akhtar's first casting choice for his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai included Akshaye Khanna, Hrithik Roshan, and Abhishek Bachchan. Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan were the last two actors he approached for the role after several others refused his film.
Farhan Akhtar made his directorial debut with Dil Chahta Hai starring Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna, and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles in 2001. The film has attained cult status over the years and is still considered iconic for its portrayal of the modern Indian youth. Farhan's first casting choice included Akshaye Khanna but not Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan. The actor-director-producer-singer first wanted Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan to be part of his first film.
In a podcast titled Picture Ke Peeche with former film reviewer Rajeev Masand, Farhan had explained how Aamir and Saif came on board for Dil Chahta Hai. He said, "When I first wrote Dil Chahta Hai, the actors I wanted to cast were Akshaye Khanna, Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan. They were the first three names I had in mind. They had just debuted and I felt that it was the right age for the characters. And Akshaye was the first person I ever met actually (for the film). He heard the draft and just immediately told me, 'I am on'. And I had met him for the role that Aamir eventually did. So I wanted him to play Akash, I wanted Hrithik to be Sameer and I wanted Abhishek to be Sid."
"When Akshaye said 'I am on', I was like, 'My God, filmmaking is so easy'! After all, the first actor I went to said yes and the other two boys I am going to meet (Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan) are my friends. We have all grown up together and so it’s going to be amazing. But life had other plans. I started to feel that the film is not going to be made. It was through this period I met Ritesh Sidhwani. He came on board and that gave me some confidence", the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag actor added.
Farhan further stated, "I met Saif Ali Khan. He loved the script and asked me which other actor is doing the film. I told him that Akshaye is already on board and that I am going to meet Aamir Khan next. I had saved these names for the last as I felt that they would never do the film. Everybody had turned down. So I had no choice but to go to these people. Saif then put forward a condition. He told me that if Aamir agrees to do the film, then even he'll do the film. I finally met Aamir. He read the English draft and asked for a Hindi version. That took a couple of months. He also said that he was not sure if I'll be able to direct it. I mean that's understandable."
The filmmaker and actor shared how Aamir convinced him to play Akash as he concluded, "Aamir told me that 'I am doing this film, Sarfarosh (1999) followed by Mann (1999). And both the characters in these films are quite serious. I am looking at playing a light-hearted character. So are you okay if I play Akash's part?' I told him that I do not doubt that he'll be able to pull it off. But I said that I'll have to speak to Akshaye Khanna as he was the first guy I ever met and came on board. I had kept Akshaye about the loop that I am talking to Aamir. When I requested him to play Sid, he said, 'Listen, I want to do the film. So I'll do it'."
Also starring Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia in the lead roles, Dil Chahta Hai won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Farhan has since then directed only three films - Lakshya in 2004, Don in 2006, and Don 2 in 2011. The actor has announced his next directorial Don 3 in which Ranveer Singh has replaced Shah Rukh Khan.
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