The 2000s were a great time for Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan. He rose to prominence and established himself as a successful actor. One of his most adored releases of that time was Hum Tum (2004). Also starring Rani Mukerji, the Kunal Kohli directorial earned Saif a National Award in the category of Best Actor in a Leading Role. Saif and Rani’s convincing onscreen chemistry, the music and dialogues made Hum Tum a cult classic. But did you know many actors said no to Hum Tum before Saif was onboarded as the lead star, including Hrithik Roshan?
Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan
In a recent interview with SCREEN, filmmaker Kunal Kohli was asked if it’s true that a lot of actors declined the part in Hum Tum before Saif Ali Khan, including Aamir Khan. Hearing this, the director replied, “No, Aamir actually didn’t hear the script, to be fair to him. He was going through his first divorce with Reena Dutta then. So, he wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Hrithik Roshan really loved the script. But he was just not ready to do it. Because he said, “I’m not sure how my character in Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003) would come out or be accepted,” which it wasn’t.”
Kunal went on to explain, “My own film, Mujhse Dosti Karoge! (2002) hadn’t worked with him (Hrithik). But he said, “This film is pure gold! I don’t have the confidence to do it right now. I’m not in that space.” So, he gave it a pass. Vivek Oberoi was a very big star at that time. He’s a very accomplished actor now as well. But this was right after Company (2002) and Saathiya (2002). He kept coming in and going out for various reasons. And then we zeroed in on Saif.”
Saif’s National Award for Hum Tum was criticised back then, with many arguing that Shah Rukh Khan, who was nominated for Swades, or Amitabh Bachchan, nominated for Black, were more deserving. Some even claimed that Saif won because his mother Sharmila Tagore was the CBFC chairperson. Responding to this allegation in a chat with Bollywood Hungama in 2024, Saif shared, “My mother didn’t get it for me. Because if my mother could give me stuff, then she would have given me much more. I guess she wouldn’t have been my mother if she did this kind of that.”
On the film front, Saif will next be seen in Haiwaan, alongside Akshay Kumar.