Twenty-five years after its release, Dil Chahta Hai continues to occupy a special place in the hearts of audiences. Far from being remembered merely as a coming-of-age film about friendship, love and growing up, Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut has become a cultural touchstone whose characters, conversations and music continue to resonate with successive generations. As Dil Chahta Hai completes 25 years, Sonali Kulkarni, who played Pooja in the cult classic, opened up about her experience of working with Saif Ali Khan and revealed that she would love to share the screen with him once again. The actress also shared her thoughts on her own memorable character.
Speaking exclusively, Kulkarni expressed an unabashed desire to reunite with her co-star. “I so want to work with Saif again and again,” she said, reflecting on the actor’s journey since . Kulkarni revealed that she has closely followed Saif’s work over the years and admired the choices he has made, particularly his willingness to experiment. She pointed to Sacred Games, which she described as India’s first web series, as an example of the actor taking on a project fearlessly.
Sonali Kulkarni expressed an unabashed desire to reunite with her co-star Saif Ali Khan
“He did fearlessly. He did such lovely movies of late and throughout,” she said, adding that what she particularly appreciates about Saif is the ease with which he inhabits his characters.
According to Kulkarni, Saif never appears uncomfortable in the worlds he creates on screen. “I really like the way he is himself. He doesn’t do something which is where you feel that he is uncomfortable. He is always fine with his character,” she said. But her admiration extends beyond his acting. Kulkarni recalled Saif’s personality on the sets and described him as a sincere actor who had the ability to make people around him feel comfortable.
“He is a very sincere actor and makes everyone around him relaxed,” she said, calling him an “absolute gentleman”.
Interestingly, Kulkarni also revealed that she picked up a rather personal habit from during their Dil Chahta Hai days — his love for carrying his own music. “I have loved Saif’s music. I have loved the style that he would carry his music with him and which I copied for long, long years till we got YouTube on our mobiles,” she revealed. “I would carry my own music for years.”
Sonali Kulkarni also revealed that she picked up a rather personal habit from Saif during their Dil Chahta Hai days
Twenty-five years later, her affection for Saif and memories of Dil Chahta Hai remain remarkably fresh. Kulkarni recently happened to bump into the actor near Prithvi and admitted that she became so excited while chatting with him that she failed to realise she was blocking traffic in the narrow lane. “It just feels that we did Dil Chahta Hai last year probably,” she recalled.
For Kulkarni, Saif’s appeal also lies in the way he treats those around him. She described him as “very, very empathetic, concerned, caring” and someone directors and co-stars would be fortunate to work with. “He looks so crisp and fabulous and he makes other people feel beautiful too,” she added, once again calling him an “absolute gentleman”.
As for her own character Pooja, Kulkarni believes the character’s honesty, humour and effortless confidence were central to her appeal. “Pooja is mod but at the same time she is absolutely honest. People loved her honesty and her sense of humour because Pooja can catch up with the vibe,” she said, adding that Pooja was never designed to fit the conventional mould of a Hindi film heroine. Instead, she was someone comfortable in her own skin, capable of connecting with the people around her without being consumed by appearances.
Sonali Kulkarni and Saif Ali Khan in a scene from Dil Chahta Hai
“She is relaxed. She makes the other person relaxed. She is not one of those typical beauty quotient heroines where she will be only self-obsessed,” Kulkarni explained, adding that Pooja came across as someone confident about who she was. “She looks at beauty and glamour as a matter of fact and she’s wanting to connect with the other person,” she added.
It was this combination of confidence, freshness and an uncomplicated attitude that made Pooja particularly memorable. Kulkarni described her as young, vibrant and “a no-nonsense person”, whose chemistry with Saif’s character Sameer brought a different energy to the film.
“With a partner like Saif, she brings such fresh, vibrant and humorous moments in the film. That is something people loved, I think,” she said. And, of course, there is the unforgettable question that became one of the film’s most enduring pop-culture references – “Who ladki hai kahan?” she hummed before signing off.
A quarter-century after Dil Chahta Hai, the memories clearly remain as vivid for its cast as they are for the audiences who continue to return to the film. In many ways Dil Chahta Hai remains celebration not just of a movie, but of friendships, performances and relationships that have stood the test of time.