Next month, Farhan Akhtar will be a year older. This year when he completed 50, I was in a state of disbelief. Farhan and 50? There is an ageless quality to his personality, not like Dev Anand but the opposite: an inherent world weariness that repudiates trivializing life even if the solemn approach makes him seem like a party pooper.
Farhan would rather be serious than popular. He is insanely versatile, and very shy about it. To begin with Farhan wanted to be a director. He directed a film called Dil Chahta Hai in 2001 which to this day, remains the best buddy-bonding flick from India. Dil Chahta Hai was gamechanger in every sense. It was a lesson in naturalism. The authentic locations, characters, performances, lighting and the sync sound favour the flavour of arcadian authenticity.
27 years after Javed Akhtar co-wrote Sholay, his son Farhan made the first feature of Hindi cinema where friendship is based entirely on firsthand experience rather than folklore. Farhan admitted his own experiences with his friends for the Hindi film. Like Sid, Akash and Sameer in Dil Chahta Hai, he and his friends liked to take off to Goa whenever they could.
ALSO READ: Farhan Akhtar Remembers Mikha Singh On His Birth Anniversary: It Was Imperative To Win His Approval | EXCLUSIVE
When market savvy folks heard the title song of Dil Chahta Hai, they immediately suggested that it be turned into a friendship anthem.
Farhan was never interested in walking the trodden path. “Lots of people thought it wouldn’t work as a background song, at least not in the charts. But for me the three friends singing a friendship song on the road was the most cliched and stereotypical situation in the world. To me friendship isn’t about singing songs and declaring undying bonds. When you’re hanging out with friends you rarely talk about how much you care for them. Those feelings are taken for granted among friends.”
Having taken the mickey out of filmy friendships Dil Chahta Hai seemed to reiterate the boys-just-wanna-have- fun philosophy that has been a staple in Hollywood but seemed to elude the creative grasp of Hindi screenwriters except in rare cases like Shekhar Kapur’s Masoom where the friendship between Naseeruddin Shah and Saeed Jaffrey rang true.
ALSO READ: Farhan Akhtar Marks Rezang La Day With New Poster Of 120 Bahadur: Tribute To Valour Of Major Shaitan Singh, His Men
Sadly Farhan didn’t cast himself inDil Chahta Hai. Had he done so, his acting career would have begun long before Rock On where he excelled not only as an actor but also a singer.
Director, actor, singer, poet… would the real Farhan Akhtar please stand up? I asked Farhan which of the roles he plays is really him. And he replied, “All of them and none of them.”
I am agog to see what Farhan Akhtar is going to do in 2025. It will be a decisive year for the actor, director, etc, etc, etc.