So it turns out that Dil Chahta Hai turned 15 years old today. Anyone who was coming of age at the time, will undoubtedly hold special memory of the film. It was a watershed movie, that spawned a whole new generation of hip, urban youth films that the young across metropolitan cities of India could relate with.
In tweeting about 15 years of the film, apparently Farhan Akhtar (who made his directorial debut with the film) hinted at a possible sequel.
Which is of course, very welcome.
With one request: We don’t mind a bromance, as long as the female characters show some serious chops in how they live their lives. I get it, that 15 years ago, times were very different. And feminism indeed, has come a long way since. But looking back, it just seems that the female characters could have been so much more well developed.
Take for instance, the lead character’s lady love: Shalini, played by the adorable Preity Zinta. Now Zinta's character might be fun, funny and in touch with her feelings; but brave, she is not. In fact, she is a typical damsel in distress who has to be saved from a beast like guy she is about to marry. The story goes, that she a family history, which obliges her to marry him and all that. History yes, but what about the present and the future? Like, seriously? But basically Shalini's weakness ends up being a convenient prop for Aakash's coming of age. Aakash, played by Aamir Khan is a character with a Peter Pan complex, but eventually finds himself growing up as he falls in love. Some more agency from the leading lady's character, here, would have been very welcome too.
Then there is lady love number two: Pooja, played by Sonali Kulkarni. The girl thinks nothing of seeing another guy for a marriage ‘rishta’, in this case Saif Ali Khan’s character, while simultaneously being in a relationship with someone else. However boring the original boyfriend might be, that hardly sounds like an excuse. What happens if you really do like the arranged match? You dump your current significant other just like that? Now, there might be people like that in reality, but its hardly the kind of ethically shaky character that you really want to watch. Especially, since it could have been something else, entirely.
Next comes Tara, played by the lovely Dimple Kapadia. She is the older love interest to the dreamy Akshay Khanna character. She is divorced and in deep pain about losing her daughter’s custody to her former husband. She is also alcoholic. And this story does not end well. She dies. What could have been an opportunity for a progressive story line, a much younger guy marrying an older woman, is thus lost. Also, poor guy, his only romantic hope remains some wispy girl he sees floating around in high grasses in Goa right at the end.
The only woman of some strength is Suhasini Mulay’s character as Akshay Khanna’s mom. She is a single lady, for whatever reason, but she has quite the life of her own going on. Single, married or dating, more such strong female characters this time, please!
In tweeting about 15 years of the film, apparently Farhan Akhtar (who made his directorial debut with the film) hinted at a possible sequel.
Which is of course, very welcome.
With one request: We don’t mind a bromance, as long as the female characters show some serious chops in how they live their lives. I get it, that 15 years ago, times were very different. And feminism indeed, has come a long way since. But looking back, it just seems that the female characters could have been so much more well developed.
Take for instance, the lead character’s lady love: Shalini, played by the adorable Preity Zinta. Now Zinta's character might be fun, funny and in touch with her feelings; but brave, she is not. In fact, she is a typical damsel in distress who has to be saved from a beast like guy she is about to marry. The story goes, that she a family history, which obliges her to marry him and all that. History yes, but what about the present and the future? Like, seriously? But basically Shalini's weakness ends up being a convenient prop for Aakash's coming of age. Aakash, played by Aamir Khan is a character with a Peter Pan complex, but eventually finds himself growing up as he falls in love. Some more agency from the leading lady's character, here, would have been very welcome too.
Then there is lady love number two: Pooja, played by Sonali Kulkarni. The girl thinks nothing of seeing another guy for a marriage ‘rishta’, in this case Saif Ali Khan’s character, while simultaneously being in a relationship with someone else. However boring the original boyfriend might be, that hardly sounds like an excuse. What happens if you really do like the arranged match? You dump your current significant other just like that? Now, there might be people like that in reality, but its hardly the kind of ethically shaky character that you really want to watch. Especially, since it could have been something else, entirely.
Next comes Tara, played by the lovely Dimple Kapadia. She is the older love interest to the dreamy Akshay Khanna character. She is divorced and in deep pain about losing her daughter’s custody to her former husband. She is also alcoholic. And this story does not end well. She dies. What could have been an opportunity for a progressive story line, a much younger guy marrying an older woman, is thus lost. Also, poor guy, his only romantic hope remains some wispy girl he sees floating around in high grasses in Goa right at the end.
The only woman of some strength is Suhasini Mulay’s character as Akshay Khanna’s mom. She is a single lady, for whatever reason, but she has quite the life of her own going on. Single, married or dating, more such strong female characters this time, please!
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