Aziz Mirza reveals his son's reaction to Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla’s Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani: ‘He turned it into a Hindu-Muslim issue…’

Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla’s 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani' has become one of the most celebrated comedy-dramas in Bollywood over the years. The 2000 film, directed by Aziz Mirza, received a lukewarm response initially but later gained attention for its satirical tone.
The film was produced by Shah Rukh, Juhi, and Aziz under a new production house the three of them formed for the project. In a recent conversation with Radio Nasha, Aziz revisited the early days of establishing the production house. They had decided to invest five lakhs each in the company, but he was going through financial difficulties at the time and was unable to contribute much. No one questioned him, and in the end, his total investment was only five lakhs.

The movie has completed 25 years since its release, and Mirza reflected on how the storyline and undertones of 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani' still resonate in today’s socio-political climate. “Even if you watch the film today, it remains so relevant. You see the little things – vo dange khud karvaata hai aur phir hawan mein baithta hai dange band karvaane ke liye. The riots were about something else, but he turned it into a Hindu-Muslim issue so that the attention would shift. All these things were done,” he pointed out.

He also shared his son’s perspective on the film’s satirical tone: “I wish people would watch that film again. My son says that I should have made the film seriously instead of as a satire—then people might have understood it better. But I made it the way I saw it.”
'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani' also featured Satish Shah, Paresh Rawal, Johny Lever, Shakti Kapoor, and Dalip Tahil in key roles.