Thirty-six years after it first lit up cinema halls, Dil remains one of Hindi cinema’s most beloved romantic films. Director Indra Kumar, whose debut feature the 1990 release was, looks back at the casting choices that shaped the film and the conviction that drove them, in a conversation with Variety India.
Aamir Khan was always the first choice
Kumar signed Aamir Khan for Dil immediately after the release of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988, though the film itself took a couple more years to reach theatres.
By the time Dil released, several of Aamir’s other films had come and gone without making much of an impression. But the film broke through. “Every actor goes through a difficult phase,” said Kumar.
The director also recalled a creative disagreement with Aamir over one particular scene, in which the character breaks a stool, starts a fire, and gets married on the spot. “He felt breaking the stool might look unreal and honestly, it was. But it was so nicely shot and performed that the situation became a showstopper. People clapped, even cried, when the scene unfolded. Aamir has a fair point logically, but I was sure about the audience I was dealing with and I knew they’d love it,” said Kumar.
Backing Madhuri when others saw a jinx
Casting Madhuri Dixit was an equally unconventional decision at the time. When Kumar signed her for both Dil and Beta, she was widely regarded as a box-office liability. “When I signed her for Dil and Beta, she was considered a jinx at the time. But I was confident about Madhuri. I told people I liked this girl and believed she had a great future,” said Kumar.
That confidence proved well-founded. While Kumar was developing both his films, Madhuri’s releases Tezaab (1988) and Ram Lakhan (1989) arrived in cinemas and transformed her into one of the decade’s biggest stars.
Honesty as the enduring formula
The collaboration between Kumar, Aamir, and Madhuri extended well beyond Dil. Kumar went on to direct Madhuri in Beta (1992), Raja (1995), and more recently Total Dhamaal (2019), while his work with Aamir continued through Ishq (1997) and Mann (1999).
Reflecting on what made Dil endure, Kumar was candid. “Honesty. We made the picture with complete honesty and love and that showed on screen. It’s my first love. After that, you become smart and somewhere along the way, that honesty fades. That’s just how it goes,” said Kumar.
Three and a half decades on, that unguarded sincerity is perhaps precisely why Dil continues to resonate with audiences who were not even born when it first released.
More Pages: Dil Box Office Collection
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