Sooraj Barjatya walked down the memory lane and recalled how Saif Ali Khan was a bundle of nerves while shooting for his 1999 film, Hum Saath-Saath Hain.
Sooraj Barjatya’s 1999 multistarrer, Hum Saath-Saath Hain was one of the biggest hits of the decade. Starring Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Mohnish Behl, Sonali Bendre, Karisma Kapoor and Tabu, the film revolved around a joint family which grows apart following a misunderstanding. Recently, the film’s director Sooraj Barjatya recalled how Saif who essayed the role of Vinod in the film, would always be ‘under a lot of pressure on the sets, to the point that he was unsure of his own acting craft.
The filmmaker, in a special making video of the film, revealed that the Hum Tum actor was very nervous working on Hum Saath-Saath Hain as he was playing a significant role in a film which had some big names in its star cast.
Sooraj recalled, “Saif would be very nervous during Hum Saath-Saath Hain shoot. This is the phase before Dil Chahta Hia. When films don’t work, actors are a little (shaken), so he would be nervous and had such a big part for the first time, that too opposite such big actors. He would keep himself under a lot of pressure. He would work too hard and mug all the lines, repeatedly.”
Recalling the filming of the song ‘Suno Ji Dulhan’ for the movie, the director revealed that Saif was unable to do it in one take, prompting him to talk to his then wife, Amrita Singh who came up with a solution to this.
Sooraj shared, “Once, we were filming the song ‘Suno Ji Dulhan’, where Saif had to copy Alok ji, Mahesh Thakur. When the shoot started, he had to do 5-6 retakes. I thought Saif was a natural actor, he should get it right in one time, this was comedy too. I asked Amrita, his wife, that why is he not able to do it. She said, ‘He doesn’t sleep, keeps looking at the mirror and thinking that this is how he would do it.’ I told her just give him some medicine and make him sleep.
He further continued, “So she secretly gave him a medicine and he slept. Next day, he woke up and gave a one-take shot! I told him you are a natural actor, sleep well and you would be able to do it! He benefited with Hum Saath Saath Hain and then of course, Dil Chahta Hai happened and then Saif became Saif.”
Cut to present, Saif has established himself as one of the most versatile actors in the Hindi film industry. The actor is now gearing up for the release of his upcoming film, Adipurush alongside Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Sunny Singh. He also recently signed Jr NTR-Janhvi Kapoor’s ‘NTR 30’.
