Sonali Kulkarni on 25 years of Dil Chahta Hai: I have Pooja's vulnerability

A role that felt personal

Twenty-five years after Dil Chahta Hai first hit screens, Sonali Kulkarni says she still feels a deep connection with Pooja, the character she played. In a recent interview marking the film's silver jubilee, the actor admitted, "I have Pooja's vulnerability." For Kulkarni, the role was never just a part in a coming-of-age story — it was a mirror.

Pooja, the older sister of Akshaye Khanna's Sid, was written as a woman caught between duty and desire. She is married, settled, and yet quietly drawn to a younger man. Kulkarni says that complexity is what made her feel at home in the character.

The quiet strength of Pooja

In the film, Pooja does not get the loud moments. She does not dance at a wedding or crack a joke with the boys. Instead, she exists in the silences — a glance, a pause, a hand that almost reaches out. That restraint, Kulkarni suggests, is something she recognised in herself.

"I have Pooja's vulnerability," she said, explaining that the character's internal conflict was not alien to her. The actor, who has worked across Hindi and Marathi cinema, said she drew from her own experiences of navigating expectations and emotions in a society that often asks women to be composed.

A film that defined a generation

Released in 2001, Dil Chahta Hai is widely credited with changing the visual and emotional language of Hindi cinema. Directed by debutant Farhan Akhtar, the film followed three friends — played by Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna — as they navigated love, ego and friendship. It also introduced the idea of the Goa trip as a rite of passage for urban Indian youth.

But the film has not escaped criticism. Several commentators have pointed out that while the male leads got layered arcs, the women were largely supporting players. Pooja, in particular, has been discussed as a character whose story was never fully told. Kulkarni's reflection adds a new dimension to that conversation.

Revisiting the women of Dil Chahta Hai

Recent essays have asked whether Dil Chahta Hai forgot to give its women jobs or ambitions beyond the men. Dimple Kapadia's character, Tara, was a divorcee in a relationship with a younger man — a bold choice for the time. Yet even she was defined largely by her connection to the male protagonist.

Kulkarni's remarks suggest that Pooja, too, carried more than what was written. "I have Pooja's vulnerability," she said, hinting at the unspoken depth the actor brought to the role. It is a reminder that some characters live beyond their scenes.

Looking back, moving forward

The 25th anniversary has also brought fresh attention to the film's legacy. ThePrint recently explored how Dil Chahta Hai shaped the Goa road trip for the Indian middle class. NDTV, meanwhile, ran a piece arguing that the forbidden romance between Akshaye Khanna and Dimple Kapadia was the real plot of the film.

In the midst of this retrospective, Farhan Akhtar and producer Ritesh Sidhwani have announced the launch of Excel Origins, an initiative to support new filmmakers. The move, reported by The Hindu, signals that the duo behind Dil Chahta Hai is looking to the next generation of storytellers.

As for Kulkarni, she seems content to let Pooja speak for itself. The character, she implies, was never just a footnote in a boys' story. She was a woman with her own quiet battles — and the actor who played her still carries a piece of that.

What remains to be seen is whether the industry, which has evolved in many ways since 2001, will finally give such characters the full arcs they deserve. For now, Kulkarni's words offer a gentle reminder that even the smallest roles can hold the deepest truths.