Sooraj Barjatya says he wasn’t ‘comfortable’ casting Madhuri Dixit in Hum Saath Saath Hain: ‘Had to cast someone as bhabhi’

Sooraj Barjatya revealed why he refused to cast Madhuri Dixit in Hum Saath Saath Hain.

New Delhi | Updated: January 29, 2025 05:21 PM IST

3 min read

Madhuri Dixit had previously worked with Sooraj Barjatya in Hum Aapke Hain Koun.

Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Saath Saath Hain was a big hit when it released in 1999 and continues to be a popular film on satellite television. The story of a joint family, it starred Salman Khan in one of the lead roles but Sooraj had a hard time casting a female actor to play Salman’s bhabhi (brother’s wife) in the film. Sooraj recently recalled that Madhuri Dixit, who worked with him in Hum Aapke Hain Koun, was ready to play the role but he refused as he wasn’t “comfortable” with it.

In a chat with Radio Nasha, Sooraj was asked about approaching many female actors, including Madhuri, before casting Tabu and he shared that it was Madhuri who called him to express her interest in the film. “I told her ‘Madhuri, I am making a male dominated picture and if I cast you opposite Salman, then it is a very small role for you and if I cast you opposite Mohnish Bahl, then you will be playing bhabhi to Salman Khan. She is such a lovely lady, she said ‘it doesn’t matter, it is a joy to work together’. But then I said I will not be comfortable,” he recalled.

Sooraj had this concern because in his previous film Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Madhuri and Salman played romantic leads and the film’s success had established them as a popular on-screen couple. Sooraj shared that casting for this part was especially tricky as he had to get an actor who did not have an association with Salman. “The whole debate was that Salman is a star so I had to cast someone who would be accepted as a bhabhi I so we cast Tabu, because Tabu came without any image,” he said. Sonali Bendre played Salman’s love interest in the film.

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Hum Saath Saath Hain also starred Saif Ali Khan and Karisma Kapoor. It was during the shoot of this film in Rajasthan that Salman, along with a few other cast members, was accused of hunting blackbucks. In 2024, shots were fired at Salman’s residence in Mumbai by an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, who has been threatening the actor for killing the blackbucks, which are considered holy by the Bishnoi community.

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