Sun, sand and bromance

Healthy male friendships aren't often depicted honestly on screen, but when directors get it right, it makes for powerful viewing

- RAJEEV MASAND

A group of us friends made an impromptu plan to go to Goa recently. Dil Chahta Hai nostalgia kicked in the moment we got out of the airport and into the car to head to our hotel at Calangute. Can one even get on Siolim Bridge without making a Reel set to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s earworm title song?

It’s been 22 years since the release of Farhan Akhtar’s generation-defining film about the lives and loves of three twenty-something male friends. Yet, remarkably, DCH remains one of the most relatable depictions of male friendship in modern Hindi cinema. How many times have you used the line “Ussne teri khuddari ko lalkara hai. Be a man, mard bann,” while encouraging a friend to take charge of a situation?