25 years of Dil Chahta Hai: Farhan Akhtar says ‘Akash, Sameer, Sid don't look like they have aged a day!'
Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar shared a nostalgic post on Instagram, expressing gratitude to fans as his debut directorial Dil Chahta Hai completes 25 years.
Dil Chahta Hai, when it released 25 years ago on this date, changed Hindi cinema as we know it. It ushered in the era of ‘cool films’- a story about the new generation, told by a debut filmmaker (Farhan Akhtar), with even the music sounding refreshing.

As the film clocks in the 25 year milestone, Farhan took to Instagram on Monday morning and shared a special poster. In the caption, he got nostalgic as he wrote, “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.”
Starring Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan, the film revolved around the trio who navigate their way through life, love, and loss as their friendship undergoes its own trials. Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia had also played key roles.
Even the BTS stories of Dil Chahta Hai's shoot have been popular over the years. Preity, in an Instagram post when the film had completed 20 years in 2021, had revealed how she was the first person to predict its iconic status. “This is surreal, celebrating 20 years of Dil Chahta Hai. I remember @faroutakhtar telling me that whenever he makes a film, he would love for me to be a part of it. A few months later, we signed on for Dil Chahta Hai and we had so much fun on set. I told Farhan on the first day of shoot, that this will be a cult film and he laughed at me. Today after all these years I’m so proud of the film we made,” she had written then.
ABOUT THE AUTHORRishabh SuriRishabh Suri is an Assistant Editor, film critic, and professional overthinker of plot points. He writes for HT City, keeping pace with an industry where news cycles expire long before the popcorn gets cold. He completed his graduation in English Honours from Kirori Mal College, followed by a Master’s degree in English Literature-effectively training his brain to over-analyse classic texts before applying those exact same skills to 3-hour Bollywood blockbusters. He got into the profession when he had barely graduated from college and has been at HT ever since. At HT, Rishabh reviews films with a simple rule: skip the dense academic jargon and get straight to the point. Beyond reviews, as Assistant Editor, he helps navigate the broader circus of showbiz, tracking everything from OTT shifts to sudden box office panics. In a beat driven by loud PR machinery and carefully scripted answers, Rishabh prefers cutting through the noise to focus on how stories get made and why trends shift. When he isn’t writing against a deadline, he is usually sitting in a dark theater, compulsively memorising dialogues. For Rishabh, analysing movies isn't just a day job- it’s a habit he couldn't turn off even if he tried.Read More

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