Satish Shah says Shah Rukh Khan would laugh every time he spat at him during Main Hoon Na shoot: ‘After 8 retakes, I got upset’

Satish Shah recalled how he performed the role of the professor who spits in Shah Rukh Khan starrer Main Hoon Na.

New Delhi | March 29, 2023 04:00 PM IST

3 min read

Shah Rukh Khan and Satish Shah in a still from Main Hoon Na.

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Satish Shah recently reminisced his time on the sets of Main Hoon Na where he played a professor who spits when he talks and recollected that he started calling himself “spitting cobra” after that. Shah recalled that he had to “practice a lot” before doing the spitting shots but Shah Rukh Khan would end up laughing and the shot would get ruined.

In a chat with Bollywood Bubble, Satish recalled, “It was not easy. I used to take in a gulp of water and keep it around my mouth and I used to accentuate certain words and syllables in a way that it comes out like a spray.” Shah recalled the classroom scene where he had to scold Shah Rukh’s Major Ram and SRK would end up laughing in every shot. “I used to work so hard on it but Shah Rukh would laugh so we would have a retake. So once we had 8 retakes, and then I got upset. I said I’ll not do it after this. Everybody was laughing and falling off their chairs on the set. Then I gave the eighth shot and Shah Rukh laughed again. They had to use Zayed’s insert shot here,” he said.

Satish recalled that when Shah Rukh and director Farah Khan offered him the role, they gave him a choice between two characters. One was the character of the principal, which was eventually played by Boman Irani, and the other role was this one. Shah recalled that upon hearing the description of the spitting professor, he said, “Maine kaha yeh kya galeech role hai (I said what a disgusting role.)”

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Shah Rukh convinced Satish that anyone could do the principal’s role but no one could pull off the professor’s role. “Shah Rukh said I think you should do this role because we can’t think of anybody else who can do this. Him and Farah both flattered me so that I would take the role,” he recalled.

Shah said that he would rehearse so much for his role that he would end up spitting on other sets as well. He recalled that soon after this, he was shooting with Govinda and ended up spitting on his face too. “I said sorry to him and explained that I am practicing so much that now, without even trying, my saliva comes out,” he remembered.

Satish Shah will next be seen in the ZEE5 series United Kacche.

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