Chapter 20: Trivia

“I dream of gardens in the desert sand.”

1. In Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Aamir’s first wife Reena Dutta had a special appearance in the song Papa Kehte Hain. By 2001, Aamir’s relationship with Reena did not seem to be going too well and seemed to have hit the rocks. He met his second wife Kiran Rao on the sets of Lagaan in 2001 and married her in 2002. In Dil Chahta Hai, Aamir’s second wife, Kiran Rao makes a cameo during the Goa scene where she appears with Deepa in a scene.

2. There is a lovely version of Eena Meena Deeka from M.V.Raman’s Aasha (1956) in Dil Chahta Hai. The song appears during the birthday scene of Tara when Sid brings along Akash and Sameer to celebrate her birthday.

3. Another song can be heard when Sameer visits Akash after the latter’s confrontation with Sid over Tara. It is Desert Rose by Sting from his 1999 album Brand New Day. The lyrics that are present in the film are, “I dream of rain, I dream of gardens in the desert sand.“

4. At one point in the film, Rohit plays a game of billiards with his friends, and another great song is playing. The song is Love of My Life by Santana, featuring Dave Matthew from their album Supernatural (1999).

5. The last name of Sameer is not mentioned anywhere in the film. The only place it can be seen is on the nameplate on the door of his house. His full name is Sameer Mulchandani.

6. The nameplate on Tara’s house is Excel International Ltd. which is also the name of the company founded by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani.

7. Perfection is present in both the films of Farhan Akhtar—Dil Chahta Hai and Lakshya. In Dil Chahta Hai, Akash watches Jan De Bont’s Speed (1994), while in Lakshya, Karan (Hrithik Roshan) watches Mark L. Lester’s Commando (1985).

8. During the song Jaane Kyon, Shalini is reading The Attorney by Steve Martini. The book is a murder mystery involving a drug-addicted mother against her daughter’s newly rich grandfather in a contentious custody case.

9. The movies that are playing in the theater in Australia are John Singleton’s Shaft (2000), Guy Ritchie’s Snatch (2000), Tarsem Singh’s The Cell (2000), Rob Sitch’s The Dish (2000), and Robert Zemeckis’s What Lies Beneath (2000). It also says McG’s Charlie’s Angels (2000), Nick Park and Peter Lord’s Chicken Run (2000), and M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable (2000) will be coming soon.

10. In Dil Chahta Hai, Raj Zutshi gives the voice-over for Dimple Kapadia’s husband when she’s having a conversation with him on the phone.

11. There are no title credits in Hindi, and the film has a running time of just over three hours at 185 minutes.

12. Artist Tushar Joag was commissioned to make the paintings of Sid. In an interview, he said, “They were commissioned works hence I don’t call them my works.” He has also made the paintings in Honey Irani’s Armaan (2003).