Kamal Haasan Said No To Villain Role In Main Hoon Na, Farah Khan Says 'Stalwarts' Turned Her Down

While attempting to make her directorial debut with Main Hoon Na (2004), choreographer-director Farah Khan encountered multiple rejections from well-known actors. Every element of the massive action epic later turned out to be flawless and the film made a successful splash at the box office. Interestingly, several performers who had important roles in the movie were added at the last minute.

Farah Khan on Main Hoon Na casting

In a conversation with Mukesh Chhabra on his talk show, The Bombay Dream, Farah revealed there were no casting directors during the making of Main Hoon Na, so she had to take charge of casting with her assistants. She said that she wasn't initially inclined to choose Suniel Shetty as the antagonist Raghavan and she approached several actors, including Kamal Haasan. 

Farah said, “For Suniel Shetty’s part in Main Hoon Na, so many stalwarts said no to me. Naseeruddin Shah refused, and then we went to Kamal Haasan. Then I approached Nana Patekar, who sat on it for a week and said no. Then we went to Suniel sir and he immediately said yes. I showed him reference pictures of the kind of look I wanted. He was a joy to work with. In fact, everyone on Main Hoon Na was the best experience of all our lives.”

Other casting changes in Main Hoon Na

She had already offered roles to SRK and Sushmita Sen, but other than them, she was unsure about the rest of the group. For example, Zayed Khan was a last-minute addition to the project; Hrithik Roshan was originally considered for the role. But Hrithik chose not to participate in the movie due to his unexpected ascent to fame following the release of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai.

Amrita Rao's casting was also not without any difficulties. Farah had originally intended to cast Ayesha Takia in the part, but she had committed to Imtiaz Ali's Socha Na Tha and was therefore unavailable. The actress said she was leaving in five days, but she didn't come back for another five weeks. Amrita Rao was eventually selected for the role just 15 days before filming started.