Dil Chahta Hai is a 2001 Bollywood movie; it was a hit in cities in India and overseas.

Story

Akash, Sameer and Siddharth are college buddies. The movie follows them from care-free bachelorhood through various romantic tribulations. Two of the romances end happily -- one doesn't.

All the characters are upper-class and cosmopolitan. They live in lavish houses, wear designer clothes, attend art exhibitions and performances of Western opera, and travel overseas as a matter of course. Some critics say that this is why the film did not do well in the villages; the lifestyle depicted was just too foreign.

City sophisticates, however, appreciated the style of the film as well as its setting. One song sequence recapitulates Bollywood dance history; one song drops the usual dance accompaniment and establishes the character's state of mind through lyrics and a moody photo collage. There is an extended opera sequence and a song-and-dance inside a painting. The director is tweaking Bollywood conventions in a knowing way.

See also:

IMBD listing for this film