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EXCLUSIVE: Shah Rukh Khan starrer Main Hoon Na was initially titled Hum Tum, REVEALS Farah Khan
Shah Rukh Khan and Sushmita Sen-starrer Main Hoon Na clocked 15 years today. On that occasion, director Farh Khan reveals the little known secrets about the massy actioner.
At a time when male filmmakers ruled the roost, Farah Khan came and positioned herself really well in the industry. That was 15 years ago when her debut directorial Main Hoon Na released (on this very day) and shattered several records. Four films under her belt already, the ace choreographer-turned-filmmaker has revamped the way the industry looks at female directors. Not just that, she also reintroduced the masala films in her own unique way back in Bollywood. As Main Hoon Na clocks one-and-a-half-decade today, we spoke to Farah who not only revealed that the film had a different title initially but also shared several tidbits from the fun shoot. Read on...
Main Hoon Na just completed 15 years. Let's go back in time. How did the film get conceptualised?
I had written the script keeping Shah Rukh in mind. I wrote it for him. I was very clear that my first film had to be with him. Though I had a lot of offers from various actors and producers, I didn't budge. In fact, I waited for three years for Shah Rukh to start my film, from the time he said yes. I wanted to make a young, fun campus film with SRK which was different from the other romantic films he was a part of. I clearly didn't want to do the typical romantic movie and present him also as an action hero. He had just about gotten by Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was six years before this film. So I wrote the whole story ulta to suit a person his age. I wrote the scenario in a way so that the reason for an actor his age to join college doesn't sound illogical. Also, I have always noticed how good Shah Rukh was with action but at that time, he was only getting romantic roles. In my film, he was this macho hero who is also goofy and cute. Main Hoon Na somehow marked the return of the '70s masala films again. 
How many script changes did the film go through?
We kept on writing drafts but the first time, I narrated him the idea, I remember we were at Oxford shooting for Mohabbatein. He had made me wait for months for the narration. We had to travel from London to Oxford which was a two-and-a-half-hours drive in the car, so he asked me to travel with him and sunao the script. I had my full hand written script which was very long actually (laughs). By the time we reached, he heard the whole script and immediately said he'll not just do it but also produce it. I was flying then! But even then, we started only after three years.
Why so?
He had already committed to a lot of films by then. There was Kal Ho Naa Ho, K3G, Asoka, Chalte Chalte. So every time, he started a new film, my heart would sink thinking, 'When will my film start?'
But you and he go back a long way...
(Cuts in) Yes, that is for sure. I was always sure that once he has approved the script, he will definitely do it. There were no doubts about that. So many people told me, 'Woh nahi karega, latka raha hai tujhe' but I had full faith in him.
Was this the first title that you decided on?
No, I had another one. It was initially called Hum Tum. I had not registered the title because it was one of the names we were toying with. When we started writing dialogues, I told my writers to write in a way where Shah Rukh's character tells his brother to just trust him. That's when they came up with Main Hoon Na. And I was like, "This has to be the title of the film". A lot of people heard it and said it sounds like the title of an art film (laughs). But I was pretty sure about it.
One of the most iconic scenes that people still remember is the rickshaw chase scene. How did you come up with that?
That was fully Abbas Tyrewala's idea and I started laughing. I wanted my action to be fun. I didn't want anything gory or bloody. It needed to be relatable to the kids and the women. Throughout the movie, that's why you see the action is very kid-friendly. We died shooting this scene. It was a seven day shoot where we had to make Film City our Darjeeling. So everyone was wearing sweaters and woollens in the heat.
The movie also turned out to be one of the top grossers that year. Did that give you a sense of validation?
Till the weekend, I was only sitting in the bedroom and crying, because a very big newspaper had put out a review on the front page giving it half stars. So I thought it was over for me. Initially, I had thought it will do really well and people will love it but the reviews left me demotivated. I was in tears till one of the distributors called me and asked me to go to Chandan and watch the movie. I lived right next to the temple and I remember taking my two building friends. You won't believe me - people were screaming, clapping and laughing. They were going mad at Sushmita's entry scene and I realised the masses were enjoying my film. Of course, it did very good numbers too. But that one review which Mayank Shekhar wrote completely destroyed my confidence.
SRK also was undergoing a surgery for his back injury during your shoot.
Yes, he had a terrible back injury which started in Darjeeling. In fact, we took a nine months gap in between before we resumed shoot for the film. In between, he went and finished Kala Ho Naa Ho and he could do that because that didn't have any action. Right after he wrapped KHNH, he went in for a surgery where a titanium disc was put in his neck. Again, he came back and started doing everything. That way, Shah Rukh is the best.
Any fun incidents that you remember but haven't spoken about, from the shoot...
There were so many. This was one of the happiest shoots for the entire unit. We had taken over the whole St Paul school in Darjeeling and every weekend in the evenings, we would have our own talent contest in the hall. Everyone was allowed to participate and it used to be really fun. We would be cheering or booing them, throwing paper balls. We felt like we were literally back to college. Also, poor Zayed got kicked and beaten up by me everyday (laughs). He used to drive me crazy. He would keep learning the scenes months in advance but once he came on sets, he would make his own dialogues. If you remember the scene where he has a huge monologue about his father, he learnt it for months and during shoot, he said his dad was in the navy and not in the army. It was ridiculous. Also, Amrita Rao had a cycling sequence in the Main Hoon Na song and she suddenly told us that she doesn't know how to cycle. I told her, 'You have got three hours to learn it'. Obviously, she couldn't so finally, she's standing beside Shah Rukh who's cycling.
When do we see you and Shah Rukh reunite for a film again?
I am still finishing my script. We are on the dialogue draft which will take another month-and-a-half. We will think of casting only after that. But I love working with Shah Rukh. There's nobody better than him. I would definitely want to do a film with him. Why not?
Will your next film with Rohit Shetty feature him then?
I don't know right now. It also depends on what he's planning to do now.
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