The Heart Desires) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Farhan Akhtar in his directoral debut.

Dil Chahta Hai was based on Akhtar's diary detailing his trips to Mumbai and New York City, and a story by a friend of his, Kassim Jagmagia, who would ultimately become a creative associate at Excel Entertainment.

It received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with praise for its fresh storyline, direction, soundtrack, cinematography, costumes and the performances of the cast.

Credits adapted from Bollywood Hungama:[4] Dil Chahta Hai was based on Farhan Akhtar's diary he wrote during his trips to Goa and his month-and-a-half-long stay in New York City in 1996, and a story by a friend of his, Kassim Jagmagia.

[6] However, he felt the story was not exciting and unusual enough for him and started to develop other characters, including Akash's friends, making his initial idea become the film's subplot.

"[6]While co-directing music videos for Shankar Mahadevan's album Breathless (1998) with his sister Zoya Akhtar, Farhan began writing the film's screenplay under the working title of Hum Teen in 1998.

[7] This marked the cinematic debut of Akhtar and his friend Ritesh Sidhwani, who produced it under their banner of Excel Entertainment; Jagmagia joined the duo as a creative associate.

[17] Initially, he did not want to star in the film, but Kapadia and Javed Akhtar persuaded him to do so, which meant that he replaced Abhishek Bachchan.

[18][19] Farhan initially wanted Hrithik Roshan to play the role of Siddharth "Sid" Sinha after seeing his performance in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000).

Khanna mentioned Dil Chahta Hai has a unique concept, and his interest in its script made him sign on to the film.

[31] The soundtrack and background score of Dil Chahta Hai were composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, after A. R. Rahman declined the offer due to date issues.

The vocals were performed by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Caralisa Monteiro, Srinivas, Shaan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Mahadevan, Clinton Cerejo, KK, Harvey, and Sonu Nigam.

[36][37] The one-minute-long trailer was released on television and film theatres (along with Aamir's Lagaan) across India to increase audience enthusiasm and publicity from the media.

[38] Prior to its theatrical release, a special screening for Indian Home Minister L. K. Advani was held at his house in Delhi.

[39] The film premiered at theatres on 10 August 2001 and clashed with Deepak Shivdasani's romantic drama Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke, also starring Zinta in the lead.

[44] Dil Chahta Hai was moderately successful at the box office, performing well in metropolitan areas, but failing in rural regions.

[52] Overseas, Dil Chahta Hai was a commercial success, collecting $210,000 in North America and $100,000 in Atlantic countries in its opening first weekend.

[61][62][63] Dil Chahta Hai received widespread critical acclaim upon release, with praise for its fresh storyline, soundtrack, Farhan's direction, cinematography, costumes and the performances of the cast.

In a 4-star review published by Bollywood Hungama, the critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh declared the film a landmark for Aamir's career.

[71] Writing for Screen, Piroj Wadia called the film "an amazing debut" for Farhan, further commending his "good" script and "fine" direction, along with "excellent" cinematography from Chandran.

[73][72] Ziya Us Salam called Dil Chahta Hai "a rare film on male camaraderie, and bachelor bonding".

He applauded its depiction of urban youth's lifestyle from middle and upper-middle-class families, adding that the film "is a rare situational comedy which does not have to rely on facial contortions and banana peels to raise peals of laughter.

"[74] In a review carried by Filmfare, Arati Koppar hailed Dil Chahta Hai as a "fabulous ... attempt" for a directorial debut, claiming that Aamir was the best among the lead actors.

Apart from reviewing the performances, Nahta also expressed admiration for Farhan's direction and took note of his ability to handle the narration "with aplomb and belies the fact that this is his maiden attempt".

[76] Jasdeep Singh Pannu from NDTV labelled Dil Chahta Hai as a "wonderfully-crafted film" with "a melodramatic act, an element better kept to the conventional Bollywood movie".

[77] While Zee Next asserted it as one of the greatest Bollywood films of the year,[78] Saibal Chatterjee elaborated: "Farhan demonstrates a style that is as sophisticated as it is impressive.

Virtually every character in the intricate tapestry that the young filmmaker creates is utterly tangible, the emotions are completely believable, and the situations fraught with subtle drama.

"[79] The Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times' K. N. Vijiyan inscribed, "This is very much a buddy-buddy film exploring the love affairs of three good friends who part ways and later, get back together."

[80] In her retrospective review for The Wall Street Journal, Beth Watkins wrote, "The mix of humour, emotion, sincerity and wisdom makes Dil Chahta Hai a truly enduring film.