Farhan Akhtar thought Dil Chahta Hai would 'never be made' after Abhishek-Hrithik turned it down

Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna headlined the cast of the 2001 film Dil Chahta Hai. The Farhan Akhtar directorial went on to become a cult classic and still enjoys a fan following. However, Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan were not the first choice for the buddy-comedy. 

Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan were offered Dil Chahta Hai 

In an old podcast interview, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar spilled beans on how he brought together the cast of the film. He recalled offering Akshaye Khanna the role that was eventually played by Aamir Khan. He also mentioned that he wanted to cast Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan for the role. Interestingly, Hrithik and Abhishek have been real-life friends for decades and it was only fitting that the movie that centered on friendship was offered to them first.

Giving a reason for the same, Farhan said, “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).” The director who made his debut with the film, recalled thinking that the craft of filmmaking it easy since the first actor he asked, Akshaye, agreed to play the part and the others (Abhishek and Hrihtik) had been his friends so he knew they would be on board. However, things did not go as planned by him. 

When Farhan Akthar thought Dil Chahta Hai would never see the light of day 

In the same conversation, Farhan mentioned that he lost hope in making the film when Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan refused to star in it. He recalled, “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.” He then recalled taking the script to Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan, who were the last names on his list. 

Farhan Akhtar mentioned Saif Ali Khan came on board the film on the condition that Aamir Khan said yes to it too. However, he added, “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.” He then continued that Akshaye was willing to play any part in the movie and that’s how the cast came together. Dil Chahta Hai also starred Preity Zinta and Dimple Kapadia. It went on to win the National Award for Best Feature Film Hindi.