The first time Farhan Akhtar went to Goa was in 1990, when his large group of friends travelled in a bus to reach the destination, which the actor filmmaker would make aspirational for an entire generation a decade later with his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai.
Dil Chahta Hai followed the lives of three college graduates–Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna– as they navigate personal challenges which test their friendship. It is often regarded as a landmark Hindi film and perhaps the start of many friendship-based stories, especially coming from Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s production house Excel Entertainment (Rock On, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara).
It is also a film, which a section of fans feel should be a revisited for a sequel, to see how the three leads would be two decades later. In an interview with Indianexpress.com, Farhan said he is aware that calls for Dil Chahta Hai 2 keep happening frequently, but he is never tired of it.
“It doesn’t bore me. Whenever someone asks me that, it feels amazing that people have so much love for the first film that they are asking for the sequel. I always appreciate that, so it can’t bore me ever. But I don’t feel I need to do a Dil Chahta Hai 2. I feel that film has done what it had to do, I said what I had to say. Anything on it now will be trying to add something to a story that doesn’t need any additions.
“For me films like a Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara to a certain extent the first Rock On, Jee Le Zara — obviously that is still to be made — but they occupy the same kind of emotional space in terms of the stories that are being told that I experienced when I did Dil Chahta Hai. So I have never thought about going back and doing a sequel,” he added.
Watch: Farhan Akhtar talks about how feels about Dil Chahta Hai 2
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Excel Entertainment’s pursuit to chronicle friendship and Goa stories continue with its latest production Madgaon Express. The comedy stars Divyenndu, Pratik Gandhi, Avinash Tiwary and Nora Fatehi among others.
Farhan said the key to make a good buddy film is to ensure that the characters click with the audiences. “You have to invest in the people on screen. You have to see your friends in them, identify, want to be a part of that group. Because most of these films are not so plot heavy. Of course there is a story, a beginning, middle and end, but what you really enjoy is how they are dealing with things. You have to make them very likeable and very believable.
“I loved the guys in Madgaon Express and the humour is absolutely incredible. When you sit alone in a room and laugh loudly while reading something, that pretty much tells you what you are feeling. You are not forced to laugh because someone is narrating it you and you have no choice! It was a quick read, is aspirational and has some great characters apart from the three boys,” he added.
Set to release on March 22, Madgaon Express marks the directorial debut of actor Kunal Kemmu.
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