Ask any filmmaker and he/she’ll confirm that having seen their film a thousand times during the edit process, they lose a sense of objectivity. They often have no idea if their film will strike a chord or will it turn out to be forgettable fare. Hence, an outside perspective at the pre-release stage is very crucial. And when it comes from one of the finest of Indian cinema, that’s akin to sone pe suhaga. That’s what happened to Farhan Akhtar when he got unexpected feedback about his directorial debut, Dil Chahta Hai (2001), from none other than Mani Ratnam.
This episode was shared by Mayank Shekhar of Mid-Day in his weekly column on February 25. He wrote about his trip to Prasad Digital Film Lab in Chennai and he revealed that several significant films have been colour-granded and processed at the iconic lab like Dil Chahta Hai, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Laapata Ladies (2024), Jolly LLB 2 (2017), Pad Man (2018), Kalki 2898 AD (2024), Hanuman (2024) to name a few.
He then mentioned that Ravi K Chandran once told him a fascinating anecdote. The ace cinematographer, who was the cinematographer of Dil Chahta Hai, was colour-grading the romantic drama when Mani Ratnam, who happened to be at Prasad Labs, ended up seeing the film. He was so impressed by the storytelling that he called Farhan Akhtar. He appreciated the film and told Farhan not to change a single frame in the film!
Dil Chahta Hai starred Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Dimple Kapadia and Sonali Kulkarni in leading roles. Though it was an average grosser, it became a cult classic later on.
Speaking of Prasad Digital Film Lab, it was founded by the legendary L V Prasad in 1974. It is owned by Prasads Group, which also runs the popular multiplex in Hyderabad, Prasads, along with Prasad Productions, L V Prasad Film & TV Academy etc.
More Pages: Dil Chahta Hai Box Office Collection , Dil Chahta Hai Movie Review
BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2026 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.