Farah recalled Rakhi’s audition.
Farah Khan said they were worried how to cover Rakhi Sawant during Main Hoon Na shoot.
Main Hoon Na established choreographer Farah Khan as a successful director. The movie not only gained attention for its leading star Shah Rukh Khan but also for its strong supporting cast. One such standout performance was by Rakhi Sawant, who made her debut with the film.
Recently, Farah Khan recalled Rakhi Sawant’s audition. Speaking to Mukesh Chhabra, she said, “Camera hil gaya (the camera was shaking).” Farah said, “Rakhi turned up for the test in a burka. The assistant was wary as it was ‘the hot girl’s role’. However, Rakhi in her typical style told him to roll the camera. Then she took off the burka and the entire camera was shaking as she was wearing a bikini underneath.”
Farah added, “However, we didn’t cast her immediately as she had orange hair but once she came to Darjeeling, our worry was how to cover her up. I was giving her sweaters and berets and she wanted to expose. I had to tell her you will look lovely like this as well.”
“She was lovely to work with. Her only request was to make her stand next to Shah Rukh or behind him in a song. She was happy with that, Farah said. The director then revealed that they had cast another actress first but had to let her go because of her “nakhre”. Farah said, “Uski mummy ne bola woh bade hotel mei rahegi, uss hotel me rahegi jisme Shah Rukh hai. Uske bahut se nakhre shuru ho gaye shooting se pehle hi (The actress’ mother demanded she will stay in a big hotel, will stay in the same one where Shah Rukh is staying. She had too many demands before shooting even started).”
Main Hoon Na was released in 2004. Alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Zayed Khan, Main Hoon Na has an impressive lineup of talented actors including Sushmita Sen, Amrita Rao, Naseeruddin Shah, Kirron Kher and Suniel Shetty, among others.
