Shah Rukh Khan was in talks for Saif Ali Khan’s role in Hum Saath Saath Hain, reveals Sooraj Barjatya

There was a time in the 1990s when Salman Khan was known by his screen name Prem and he got this name thanks to his many collaborations with director Sooraj Barjatya. It was in the same phase that Shah Rukh was known by his screen name Rahul, and even though they were all contemporaries, it just so happened that Sooraj and Shah Rukh never worked together. But, in a recent interview, the Maine Pyar Kiya director revealed that he was actually in conversation with Shah Rukh for Hum Saath Hain, and the role he was offered was the one that was ultimately played by Saif Ali Khan.

In a chat with Bollywood Bubble, when asked about if he was ever in conversation with SRK for a film, Sooraj said, “Many years ago, for Hum Saath Saath Hain… We were talking about Saif’s role. But this was a long time ago.” It is unknown if he was planning to cast Shah Rukh and Salman in the same film, as Salman was already established as Rajshri’s Prem by then. In the film, Saif Ali Khan was paired opposite Karisma Kapoor. The film also starred Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Mohnish Bahl.

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In an earlier video shared on Rajshri Productions’ YouTube page, Sooraj had shared that Saif was “very nervous” during the shoot of the film, as he was going through a low phase in his career. “When films don’t work, actors are a little (shaken), so he would be nervous and had such a big part for the first time, that too opposite such big actors. He would keep himself under a lot of pressure. He would work too hard and mug all the lines, repeatedly,” he said.

He recalled that while shooting for the song ‘Suno Ji Dulhan’, when Saif had to imitate Mahesh Thakur and Alok Nath, he found out that this was happening because Saif was spending sleepless nights getting stressed over the role. “I asked Amrita, his wife, that why is he not able to do it. She said, ‘He doesn’t sleep, keeps looking at the mirror and thinking that this is how he would do it.’ I told her just give him some medicine and make him sleep,” he said. The next day, Saif returned a changed man and could successfully do it in one take.