Veteran filmmaker and producer Mahesh Bhatt’s Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin completed 34 years earlier this month. Starring Aamir Khan, Pooja Bhatt and Anupam Kher, the film was a romantic drama. Bhatt looked back at the film in an interview with us.
34 years of Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin: Mahesh Bhatt says, “In an age where Saiyaara has cast a spell on cinegoers, it’s almost miraculous that a reference to this film still draws smiles”
How do you look back on Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, your only film with Aamir Khan?
It is a memory that refuses to die. There is one truth I’ve come to know deeply: all the works of mortal men lie under a sentence of mortality. They live among things destined to perish. Seneca said this centuries ago—and it holds just as true for films, no matter how iconic.
It is one your most loved films
In an age where my brilliant protégé Mohit Suri’s blockbuster love story Saiyaara has cast a spell on the global consciousness of cinegoers, it feels almost miraculous that a reference to Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin still draws smiles. That it continues to evoke a shared warmth—especially among the generation that grew up with it, across continents—is nothing short of extraordinary.
Why does it endure?
Yes, there’s the enduring star power of Aamir Khan—who has grown from strength to strength over the decades. Because it’s the wings of stars like him that carry movies far beyond the moment of their making. But that’s not the whole story.
Then what is?
There was also the perfect casting of Pooja Bhatt—playing the brattish billionaire’s daughter with a kind of reckless charm that was both infuriating and irresistible. And who can forget Anupam Kher’s unforgettable turn as the father who urges his daughter to run away from her wedding—a moment that jolted the orthodox conscience of the nation. And yet… they all secretly loved it.
The music was a big plus?
Of course, the music. Nadeem–Shravan’s melodies, paired with Gulshan Kumar’s marketing genius, gave the film its soul and wings. Those songs played in buses, taxis, homes—and hearts. But beneath all this—there is a seed.
You mean you are going to acknowledge the source for Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin?
That seed came from one of the greatest filmmakers America ever produced: Frank Capra. It Happened One Night, his classic, became the inspirational source not just for us, but for filmmakers around the world. Even Chori Chori, with Raj Kapoor and Nargis, attempted it. But it never quite landed the way Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin did.
Why do you think Chori Chori failed and your film didn’t?
Perhaps because we were wise enough to stay true to Capra’s original climax—and still make it our own. Yet, if you ask me who the real hero of the film was—I’d say without hesitation: Sharad Joshi. Sharad, the unsung writer who penned the dialogues, brought Frank Capra’s story into the soil of India. He gave it a heartbeat that belonged here. Raghu Jaitley—Aamir’s character—felt so real, so rooted, that audiences instantly identified with him. You believed in him. You walked with him. The screenplay, adapted by Robin Bhatt, was a collective effort—yes. But Sharad’s pen had the dust of the heartland on it. And that made all the difference.
There is a story behind Aamir’s cap?
Yes, there’s a small story about Aamir’s cap. He took nearly 10 hours to design it. That’s a fact. That little piece of costume became an icon—replicated on the streets, sold at traffic signals across Bombay. A small gesture of perfection that became a wave.
And now, 34 years later…
When the world has changed, when the noise of streaming and attention-deficit storytelling drowns out so much—it means something that Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin is still remembered. Still loved. Even in this age of “broadening success” and clear departures from the kind of films we once made, this love story refuses to fade. So thank you—to everyone who brought that film to life. Thank you, Frank Capra, for planting the idea. Thank you, Sharad Joshi, for giving it an Indian soul. Some memories… they don’t just live on. They insist on being loved again.
More Pages: Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin Box Office Collection
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