Saif Ali Khan was ‘nervous’ during ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ shoot, given sleeping medicine: Sooraj Barjatya

Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya recalled how actor Saif Ali Khan was ‘nervous’ during the shoot of his 1999 film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’. A video of him revisiting the two-decade-old film is being widely shared on the internet.

Saif played the role of Mohnish Bahl and Salman Khan’s younger brother in the film. The movie also starred Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Karisma Kapoor in pivotal roles.

‘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,’ Barjatya said in the video shared by Rajshri Production’s YouTube page.

The director mentioned that Saif was unable to film the song ‘Suno Ji Dulhan’ in one take, and noticing him under pressure, Sooraj talked to his then-wife, Amrita Singh.

‘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 said.

‘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,’ he added.

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