Saif Ali Khan is one of the leading stars in the film industry. Over the years, the supremely talented artist has paved his way forth with some unparalleled performances, and even today, his stride has been no less. Son of veteran actress, Sharmila Tagore, Saif got his big break in cinema with Yash Chopra’s Parampara. Successively, it was with films like Yeh Dillagi, Main Khiladi Tu Anadi, Kachche Dhaage, Dil Chahta Hai and much more, that he gained widespread stardom. In his personal life, he got married for the first time to actress, Amrita Singh in 1991, but their marriage ended in 2004. Thereafter, he married Kareena Kapoor in 2012.
Back in the year 1992, Saif Ali Khan was roped in by filmmaker, Rahul Rawail for his film, Bekhudi, that featured Kajol as the leading lady. This was a massive opportunity for Saif, since it would be his debut in the film industry. Moreover, even his mother, Sharmila Tagore was pleasantly happy, since her son would get to work with the daughter of her good friend, Tanuja. However, Saif ended up being ousted from the film and got replaced. The reported reasons behind the same were claimed that Saif had angered the filmmaker, Rahul Rawail with his unprofessional behaviour, and the latter had no choice but to throw the young Pataudi prince out of the sets.
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Much like two sides of a coin, Saif Ali Khan, too, had his version of this unbelievable episode in his life, when he was thrown out of the sets of the film, which could have been his debut. Later, in an interview on Doordarshan’s show, Subah Savere, Saif opened up about that incident and mentioned that the filmmaker had offered him a moral choice to choose between his then-girlfriend, Amrita Singh or his debut film. Expressing more about the tough struggles he has endured at various points in his life, he added:
“Many people talk about the struggle. What does struggle even mean? Struggle ka matlab kya hota hai? Auto rickshaw mein baitho aur 10 chakkar kaato. Kisi ke office mein 3 ghante ke liye baitho. Ise struggle kehte hain. Meri struggle bhi thi lekin alag thi. Mujhe apni pehle film se nikaal diya gaya kyuki mere director saab ne bola ki ‘you leave your girlfriend or you do the film’. It was a moral choice.”
However, all the things didn’t end on a sour note after all. When Saif Ali Khan was removed from spearheading the film, Bekhudi, the actor got replaced by Kamal Sadanah, for whom it was a debut film as well. On the other hand, Saif Ali Khan went onto bag another mega project under Yash Chopra, Parampara, in 1993. Although the film was a multi-starrer and featured bigger stars, including Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna, Aamir Khan, Anupam Kher and others, it nevertheless contributed Saif to carve his own limelight.
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This wasn’t the first time that Saif Ali Khan was replaced from a major film. Well, the actor was supposed to play the crucial antagonistic role of ‘Chunnilal’ in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, Devdas. However, the most shocking part of this replacement for the actor was the fact that it was done at the very last minute and the filmmaker didn’t even inform him. In one of his older interviews with Nilufer Qureshi in 2001, Saif discussed the same and revealed why he chose to go ahead with Dil Chahta Hai instead. In his words:
“Though Sanjay Bhansali thinks I’m silly, let me make it very clear that I didn’t turn him down. There was a miscommunication between us on the price. Also, let me clarify that I didn’t ask for an obscene sum of money. Without getting back to me and discussing the price, Sanjay closed the chapter. Nobody even told me that the negotiations were off till I called back to find out what was happening.”
What do you think about this anecdote about Saif Ali Khan losing out on his debut film? Let us know.
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