Two men, ice creams and a beach: Farhan Akhtar recalls a simple moment when he learnt a life lesson about 'friendships' that survive time

Twenty-five years after Dil Chahta Hai changed the way friendship was shown in Hindi cinema, Farhan Akhtar still finds himself thinking about Akash, Sid and Sameer and what their lives might look like today. The filmmaker recently recalled a simple moment he witnessed during a holiday which, for him, perfectly captured the kind of friendship the three characters could still share after growing older.

Speaking to The Juggernaut, Akhtar described seeing two elderly men at a beach and said the sight immediately reminded him of the three friends from his 2001 directorial debut.

The beachside moment that reminded Farhan of Dil Chahta Hai

Akhtar said he saw two men who appeared to be in their late 60s or 70s sitting together at a small beach shack. What caught his attention was not anything particularly dramatic, but the fact that the two men seemed to have their own little routine.


"I saw these two men in their late 60s or 70s. They came to this little beach shack, sat at a table that was reserved for them and ate ice cream sundaes together. I thought it was the most incredible thing. That's where I see Akash, Sid and Sameer. I see them having a table of their own where they always meet and have a chat and have some ice cream sundaes."

For Akhtar, that image also connected to one of the most memorable exchanges in Dil Chahta Hai. In the film, Akash talks about the three friends meeting in Goa every year, while Sid wonders whether they will actually manage to meet even once in the next decade.

It was a light moment in the film, but the thought behind it has become more relevant with time. Friendships can remain important even when work, relationships, family responsibilities and distance make regular meetings difficult.

Farhan Akhtar on why friendships need effort

Akhtar said that particular exchange has remained one of his favourite parts of the film because it reflects something people often understand only after getting older.

"Life will constantly keep getting in the way. You have to make an effort to stay in touch and just be there for each other. It's not something that you imagine in your early 20s, that you're not going to see your friends for five years and six years. We should prepare ourselves for it by really cherishing what we have and enjoying ourselves while we can."

Akhtar also said he was able to write the idea while he was still in his twenties because he could recognise that such a situation was possible, even if he had not experienced it fully himself at the time.

Interestingly, the friendship theme of Dil Chahta Hai has also stayed close to Akhtar's own life. He revealed that the friends he had when he wrote the film are still among his closest friends today.

"The friends that I had when I wrote that film; they still are my closest friends today after all these years; I just feel blessed. But …" he added with a laugh, "I don't want to jinx it by talking about it too much."

Dil Chahta Hai remains a friendship favourite

Released on August 10, 2001, Dil Chahta Hai starred Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan as three friends whose lives begin moving in different directions. Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia were also part of the cast.

The film became a major success and its music, composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, became popular with audiences. More than two decades later, Akhtar's beachside memory shows why its central idea about friendship continues to feel familiar, especially to people who have grown older alongside their own group of friends.