Filmmaker Farah Khan recently visited actress-singer Shruti Haasan’s Mumbai home for her cooking vlog — but what began as a casual kitchen chat soon turned into a delightful walk down memory lane.

During the conversation, Farah shared an amusing anecdote about how she once approached Shruti’s father, legendary actor Kamal Haasan, to star opposite Shah Rukh Khan in one of her films, only to be politely declined in his trademark style.

When Kamal Haasan Rejected a Role in Main Hoon Na

Farah made her directorial debut with the 2004 blockbuster Main Hoon Na, featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Zayed Khan, Sushmita Sen, Amrita Rao, and Suniel Shetty. In her vlog, the filmmaker revealed that her first choice for the antagonist, Raghavan Dutta, was Kamal Haasan.

Farah told Shruti, "Kamal sir was my first choice for Main Hoon Na, but then Suniel Shetty played that role. I went to Chennai to his office and narrated him the script, and he politely asked me to duck off." She, however, did not disclose the reason behind his decision to turn down the project.

About Main Hoon Na

Released in 2004, Main Hoon Na was both a commercial and critical success. Made on a budget of ₹25 crore, the film grossed ₹70.40 crore worldwide. The story follows Shah Rukh Khan as Major Ram Prasad Sharma, an Indian Army officer who goes undercover as a college student to protect a general’s daughter, Sanjana (Amrita Rao), while also searching for his estranged stepbrother, Lakshman (Zayed Khan).

 

Along the way, he must thwart a militant’s plan to sabotage the Indo-Pak peace initiative “Project Milaap,” juggle campus life, and heal broken family bonds. Its chart-topping songs, including Tumse Milke and Main Hoon Na, coupled with its action-packed sequences, cemented its place as a Bollywood favourite.

Kamal Haasan’s Upcoming Projects

Kamal Haasan was last seen in the Tamil film Thug Life, which reunited him with Mani Ratnam after 37 years. Despite high expectations, the film could not recreate the magic of their 1987 classic Nayakan, earning ₹97.25 crore worldwide. The veteran actor will next be seen in S. Shankar’s Indian 3, currently in production, with its release date yet to be announced.