Filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan made her directorial debut with the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Main Hoon Na. The film featured a stellar cast including Zayed Khan, Sushmita Sen, Amrita Rao, and Suniel Shetty in pivotal roles. While the movie boasted an impressive lineup, Farah recently shared in an interview the challenges she faced in bringing these actors together for the project. Farah shared the casting hurdles she encountered while working on Main Hoon Na and underscored Shah Rukh Khan's unwavering support for all her films. Speaking to casting director Mukesh Chhabra on Mashable India's show The Bombay Dream, she said, "I always face casting challenge in my films except for Shah Rukh Khan. He always agrees to do my films. During Main Hoon Na, we didn't have casting directors and me and my assistants used to cast people. Except for Shah Rukh and Sushmita Sen, whom I had told long ago that I will cast her in my film, we had no confirmed actors. Zayed Khan came on board at the last minute. The first choice for Zayed's role was Hrithik Roshan. This was before Hrithik's debut film Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai had released. After the film released, Hrithik became Hrithik and he left." From Abhishek Bachchan to Sohail Kham, many actors were approached for Main Hoon Na. "I also approached Abhishek Bachchan for Zayed's role but that didn't work out. Then I approached Sohail Khan and that too didn't work out. Just one or two months before the shooting of Main Hoon Na, I went to see Zayed's film in theatre. He had a good smile and I thought he was charming. Amrita Rao came on board just 15 days before the film's shooting. I initially wanted to cast Ayesha Takia for Amrita's role, but then Imtiaz Ali took her for Socha Na Tha. She told me that she is going for five days, but she didn't come back for five weeks. Then I started looking for another female lead," she said. During the conversation, Farah Khan also disclosed that she had considered veteran actors Naseeruddin Shah, Kamal Haasan, and Nana Patekar for the negative role of a terrorist. Despite her efforts, all three actors turned down the role. Eventually, the role landed in Suniel Shetty's lap.
