Speaking with Subhash K Jha, Saif Ali Khan shared memories about the making of the fun film, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, which released 1994 and also starred Akshay Kumar.
Saif,, turned 31 on September 23, your thoughts please?
So much fun!! Happy happy memories. Do you know ‘Chura ke dil mera’ was my song. Next morning gone! Such is life in the movies. But I’m happy Akshay and Shilpa killed it like that. We all shared the credit for that film. It’s all part of the game. It’s a classic song and I can’t imagine anyone else doing it now.
Could you walk me through that whole episode when you lost ‘Chura Ke Dil Mera’?
The director had come and played it to me the night before and said this is for you. Rageshwari is a very fair girl and he said I have a song called ‘Chura ke dil mera’. But it turned out that Akshay and Shilpa did it, and did it amazingly. So no hard feelings at all.
Would you like to change anything about your character, if given a chance?
Not much! It was a fab, funny guy. I played an actor trying to be a real cop. I haven’t got the chance to play an actor before or after.
You enjoyed working on that project?
So much… a lovely, fun film … We blatantly copied The Hard Way and I played Michael J Fox’s role. Akshay was so much fun to work with. We had a blast! This was my second success after Yeh Dillagi and kind of secured my place in the industry. The audience and I had connected nicely.
Any memorable incidents?
There was chaos one day when a hairdresser cut my hair off at the back of my head, halfway through the film! No one knew what to do! Finally we got a patch made and clipped it on and you couldn’t tell . Relief! Some very happy memories .
Do you enjoy using props for your roles?
I love dress up roles with fab make up and hair.
The film was a turning point in your career?
I did well out of the film. Very important. As I said, it came after Yeh Dillagi and cemented and confirmed my career.
