- Saif Ali Khan won the National Award for Best Actor for Hum Tum
- Hrithik Roshan was offered Saif's role but declined due to lack of confidence
- Aamir Khan was approached but did not hear the script amid personal issues
The 2000s were a fun time for classic rom-coms in Bollywood. While Saif Ali Khan went on to win hearts and a National Award for his performance in Hum Tum, director Kunal Kohli recently revealed that the role was offered to Hrithik Roshan, who rejected it. Aamir Khan was approached too.
What's Happening
- In a conversation with SCREEN, Kunal Kohli said, "No, Aamir actually didn't hear the script, to be fair to him. He was going through his first divorce with Reena Dutta then, so he wasn't in the right frame of mind. Hrithik Roshan really loved the script, but he was just not ready to do it."
- He continued, "Because he said, 'I'm not sure how my character in Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003) would come out or be accepted,' which it wasn't. My own film, Mujhse Dosti Karoge! (2002), hadn't worked with him. But he said, 'This film is pure gold! I don't have the confidence to do it right now. I'm not in that space.'"
- "So, he gave it a pass. Vivek Oberoi was a very big star at that time. He's a very accomplished actor now as well. But this was right after Company (2002) and Saathiya (2002). He kept coming in and going out for various reasons. And then we zeroed in on Saif," concluded Kunal Kohli.
About Hum Tum
The plot of the film revolves around Karan Kapoor (Saif Ali Khan), a cartoonist, and Rhea Prakash, a designer, who meet for the first time on a flight. As fate would have it, they keep meeting again and again at different phases of their lives. What's interesting to note is that every time they meet, something or other goes wrong for sure.
The story then unravels to show how life finally brings them together to experience a whirlwind romance.
Hum Tum was the perfect amalgamation of romance and humour. Saif and Rani were hailed for their performances. Saif Ali Khan even won the National Award for Best Actor for Hum Tum. He was competing against Shah Rukh Khan, who was nominated in the same category for Swades.
