‘Dil Chahta Hai’, Farhan Akhtar‘s directorial debut, marked 25 years since its release, and the milestone brought together the film’s director, cast, and crew for a nostalgic look back at how the movie came together. Among those present were Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Akshaye Khanna, who spoke about the now-iconic scene where Akshaye’s character, Sid, slaps Aamir’s character, Aakash, during a heated moment at the film’s midpoint. According to Farhan, the slaps weren’t staged the way film scenes typically are, Aamir took the hits for real, leaving one side of his face visibly red and swollen afterward. Getting the shot right reportedly took 17 takes.

Aamir Khan took 17 real slaps for the scene

Khan revealed that the scene required 17 takes to capture different camera angles and close-up shots, with Farhan confirming, “They were all real slaps.” Farhan explained that he’d originally planned for just the wide shot to feature an actual slap, but Aamir felt the scene demanded authenticity throughout and pushed to keep it real for every subsequent take as well. While Farhan had briefed Aamir beforehand on when to expect it, he secretly instructed Akshaye to throw the slap slightly ahead of cue, catching Aamir off guard for a more genuine reaction.“I told Akshaye that he is expecting it to happen at the end of this line. Do it while he is saying the line so you get the element of surprise on his face. After that, Aamir said that even when we were doing it in the OTS (over-the-shoulder shot), let him just slap me because he is bringing me into a frame of mind which is really helping me. So then he just insisted on getting slapped,” Farhan recalled while talking to Yuvaa.

Aamir Khan’s face was left swollen after the shoot

Aamir added that the approach ultimately served the scene well, so he stuck with it. “But it works. And even his angle, because when you actually slap someone, it makes you feel differently,” he said. Farhan, recalling the aftermath, noted that Aamir’s face bore visible marks by the time filming wrapped. “When we were finished, I remember there was a full mark. He was all swollen on one side of his face,” he shared.

Why Aamir Khan’s character was slapped and not beaten

The slap occurs right after Sid opens up about his feelings for Tara, and Aakash responds with a dismissive, hurtful remark about their relationship. That single slap creates a lasting rift between the two friends, one that remains unresolved until the film’s climax. Asked why he opted for a slap rather than a more intense physical confrontation, Farhan noted that among friends, a slap carries far more weight than any other form of violence. “I think between friends, when a friend slaps another friend, it’s a massive happening so I don’t think you ned to push it any further than that. At most, we could have added some digital reverb to make it more dramatic,” he said, adding, “I mean between friends, a slap is more than enough. It doesn’t need to be more.”The actor also weighed in on the scene, sharing, “As a violent act, you can say that a slap is not as violent as stabbing someone or beating up someone but actually, between friends, just a slap is much more demeaning, insulting, or hurtful. A slap is much more hurtful than getting beaten up, so for me all that worked beautifully.” On how his character responds in that moment, Aamir added, “When Aakash gets slapped, his anger rises so much that beyond that, he doesn’t want to compromise. I felt that on the written page, and I had no doubts about that.”

Suchitra Pillai recalls slapping Saif Ali Khan thrice

Another standout slap moment in the film came courtesy of Saif Ali Khan’s Sameer and Suchitra Pillai’s Priya, with her character slapping him as their relationship heads toward its end. Suchitra, present at the reunion as well, revealed that she too was directed to slap for real, and it took her three attempts to get it done. “I slapped you, Saif. I slapped you three times,” she recalled with a laugh. She also shared a memorable run-in with Saif’s mother, veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, where she introduced herself as the one who’d slapped her son on screen. “I told her, ‘Ma’am, I am Suchitra. I don’t know if you remember Dil Chahta Hai, I slapped your son’. And she said, ‘I hope it was a hard one’,” she recalled.

Aamir Khan’s co-stars in ‘Dil Chahta Hai’

Other cast members of ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ included Preity Zinta, Dimple Kapadia, Sonali Kulkarni, Rajat Kapoor, and Ayub Khan, among others.