Farhan Akhtar’s directorial ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was a blockbuster in 2001. The movie featured Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia in the lead roles.

While many of us have loved watching the movie, there are a dozen of stories behind it that most of us are unaware of. Of course, Aamir Khan was not the first choice of the film when the story was scripted. Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, and Akshaye Khanna were the initial selections. Can you visualize the movie with this cast?

When Hrithik turned down the offer, it went to Abhishek Bachchan, and thereafter Aamir Khan.

It was speculated that Farhan Akhtar’s story was based on true events that he went through after a split with Aditya and Uday Chopra but the actor-director denied it completely. He stated that his mother Honey Irani had written script for Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge but wasn’t given any credit. It is said that it affected his friendship with Chopras, and more so with Uday and he incorporated that rift with him in a script.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t upset,” Akhtar said. “Not just at Uday, but at all of them. Because these are people I knew for practically all my life. It really upset my Mom for a long time because they were her close friends. But no, it was not an inspiration for Dil Chahta Hai.” As per Farhan, time has healed everything and now he maintains quite a cordial relationship with them.

Apparently, the King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan was also approached for the movie and was asked to take the role of Akash or Sid, as per his choice, but he declined.