Dil Chahta Hai is now a cult film.
Farhan Akhtar said that Akshaye Khanna refused to play the lead role because he liked the film very much.
Farhan Akhtar made his directorial debut with Dil Chahta Hai, which starred Aamir Khan, Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles. However, he recently recalled that the role of the jovial Akash Malhotra was first offered to Akshaye Khanna from Aamir's side. Farhan revealed that when Aamir signed the film, he wanted to play Akash as he had already played several serious roles. Akshaye Khanna 'humbly' let go of the role for the greater benefit of the film.
Farhan Akhtar told Faye D'Souza, “I have experienced true grace from Akshaye Khanna. When I met him for Dil Chahta Hai, I offered him the role of Akash, which Aamir did… When I approached Akshay at that time, I wanted to cast two other young actors, so I approached Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan, who were just one film old at that time. But they had other plans, and that didn't happen, so I had to cast actors from a slightly older generation for Dil Chahta Hai.”
“After Darr Darr Ki Thokrein Khake, I showed the script to Aamir. He told me that since he has done some serious roles, he wanted to play the role of Akash… Akshay calmly told me that he loved the film and he knew it should be made. He said, 'I will play that role.' It's rare to find actors who let go of roles so gracefully,” Farhan said.
Farhan also recalled that Shah Rukh Khan starrer Don was first offered to Hrithik Roshan. Farhan Akhtar started writing the script of Don soon after the release of Hrithik Roshan's film Lakshya. He told Hrithik that he wanted to cast him in the film and would hand over the script to him soon. However, while writing, Farhan was only thinking of Shah Rukh Khan. Farhan said that Hrithik politely asked him to push Shah Rukh as it was his project. “Hrithik did exactly the same as Akshay did. He told me to go ahead with it because I have to make my own film. I loved it,” Farhan said.
Meanwhile, Farhan Akhtar is now working on Don 3. Ranveer Singh will be seen playing the new don in the film. Kiara Advani has also been roped in for the film.
