So ali
Be d e
evisits
he
cha acte
as
‘Dil
Chahta
Hai’
tu s
25!(Image
C edit:
I stag am)
Twe ty-five
yea s
afte
Dil
Chahta
Hai
fi st
a ived
o
sc ee ,
So ali
Kulka i
co ti ues
to
be
closely
associated
with
o e
of
the
film’s
most
loved
cha acte s
–
Pooja.
So ali
looks
back
at
the
cha acte
with
fo d ess,
eflecti g
o
the
qualities
that
made
Pooja
so
i sta tly
elatable
a d
how
she
co ti ues
to
see
a
pa t
of
he self
i
he
eve
today.Fo
So ali,
Pooja
was
eve
simply
a
cha acte
she
po t ayed.
The e
was
a
i sti ctive
co ectio
betwee
the
act ess
a d
the
you g,
ca did
a d
effo tlessly
cha mi g
woma
she
b ought
to
life.
“I
have
Pooja’s
humou .
I
have
Pooja’s
ease,”
So ali
ecalls
i
a
exclusive
co ve satio ,
eflecti g
o
the
qualities
she
fou d
most
atu ally
withi
the
cha acte .
25
yea s
of
‘Dil
Chahta
Hai’:
So ali
Kulka i
o
t a sfo mi g
i to
Pooja
While
Pooja’s
pe so ality
came
i sti ctively
to
So ali,
he
ow-ico ic
appea a ce
was
ca efully
shaped
by
the
film’s
c eative
team.
So ali
c edits
costume
desig e
A ju
Bhasi
a d
Adhu a,
who
desig ed
he
look,
fo
givi g
Pooja
he
disti ctive
visual
ide tity.
So ali
sha es,
“The
glamou
quotie t
was
added
by
A ju
Bhasi ,
ou
costume
desig e .
The
looks
we e
desig ed
by
Adhu a.
She
cut
my
hai ,
a d
that
was
somethi g
that
eally
added
Pooja
to
me
because
I
had
lo g
hai .
I
all
my
p evious
films,
I
had
spo ted
lo g
hai ,
except
i
Daay a,
whe e
I
had
to
wea
a
c opped
boy-cut
wig.
But
cutti g
my
hai
eally
cha ged
my
pe so ality,
a d
that
is
defi itely
to
the
c edit
of
Adhu a
a d
my
e ti e
look
desig
team.”The
t a sfo matio
we t
beyo d
just
a
hai style.
Pooja’s
easy
fashio ,
colou ful
wa d obe
a d
co tempo a y
aesthetic
became
a
i teg al
pa t
of
the
cha acte
a d,
i
ma y
ways,
i t oduced
So ali
to
a
ew
visual
la guage.
What
made
the
‘Dil
Chahta
Hai’
cha acte
so
special
“I
vibed
well
with
Pooja.
I
u de stood
he
because
she
is
a
f a k
pe so ,
someo e
who
would ‘t
lie.
She
is
youthful
a d
t uthful,”
So ali
says.
“Pooja
is
someo e
who
ope s
up
quickly,
a d
she
tells
the
t uth-
that
she
has
a
boyf ie d.
She
is ‘t
beati g
a ou d
the
bush.
She
is ‘t
hidi g
a ythi g
f om
the
ew
pe so ,
Samee ,
played
by
Saif,
whom
she
meets.”It
was
this
f a k ess
a d
emotio al
ho esty
that
So ali
fou d
pa ticula ly
elatable.
Pooja
does
ot
ove complicate
he
elatio ships
o
hide
behi d
p ete ce.
She
is
di ect
about
who
she
is
a d
what
she
feels,
a
quality
that
So ali
believes
helped
he
co ect
with
the
cha acte
o
a
i sti ctive
level.”She
comes
ac oss
ve y
f a kly,
a d
that
is
the
pa t
of
Pooja
that
I
could
co ect
with,”
she
adds.
So ali
Kulka i
says
she
lea t
fashio
f om
he
o -sc ee
pe so ality
Pooja
Twe ty-five
yea s
late ,
So ali
also
looks
back
at
Pooja
as
a
cha acte
who
was
ahead
of
he
time
i
the
way
she
d essed
a d
ca ied
he self.
The
film
b ought
a
se se
of
f esh ess
to
the
way
you g
I dia s
we e
ep ese ted
o
sc ee
—
f om
colou ful
clothi g
a d
hai
to
elaxed,
comfo table
silhouettes.”Apa t
f om
that,
I
loved
bei g
Pooja.
The e
we e
f esh
colou s
that
‘Dil
Chahta
Hai’
b ought
—
i
the
se se
of
the
hai
colou ,
the
costume
colou s.
Me
we e
see
wea i g
colou ful
t ouse s,
gi ls
we e
wea i g
easy,
comfo table
clothi g
a d
that’s
somethi g
Pooja
helped
me
lea ,”
So ali
says.”I
a
way,
you
could
say
I
lea t
fashio
f om
Pooja,”
she
co cludes.
About
‘Dil
Chahta
Hai’
Di ected
by
Fa ha
Akhta ,
‘Dil
Chahta
Hai’
sta ed
Aami
Kha ,
Saif
Ali
Kha ,
a d
Akshaye
Kha a.
Released
o
August
10,
2001,
the
film
co ti ues
to
eso ate
with
the
youth
fo
its
evolutio a y
comi g-of-age
plot.
