Farah Khan says she ensured Main Hoon Na villain was not a Muslim

Main Hoon Na director Farah Khan also chose to make the villain’s henchman, who ultimately proves his loyalty to the country, a Muslim.

Farah Khan opened up about the making of her directorial debut, Main Hoon Na, and said that she made a conscious decision to not have a Muslim antagonist. She made this revelation on Audible Suno’s podcast Picture Ke Peeche.

Suniel Shetty played the antagonist in Main Hoon Na.

According to a press release, Farah said that she did not want the villain of her film to be a Muslim. She also chose Khan as the name of the antagonist’s right-hand man, who realises he was being misled all along and ends up choosing his country over terrorism.

Suniel Shetty played the villain, a former army officer-turned-militant named Raghavan, in Main Hoon Na. Shah Rukh Khan was seen as the hero, Major Ram Prasad Sharma, who foils his plans to derail a peaceful operation to strengthen bilateral ties between India and Pakistan. The film also starred Sushmita Sen, Zayed Khan and Amrita Rao in important roles.

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Farah also had a tough time casting for the character of Laxman Prasad Sharma aka Lucky. She asked Hrithik Roshan to be a part of the film before he made his debut, but after Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai became a stupendous success, he refused to do a two-hero film. She also considered Abhishek Bachchan and Sohail Khan, before zeroing in on Zayed.

The filmmaker also opened up about the possibility of Main Hoon Na 2 and said that the chances of making it were bleak. She initially had an idea for a sequel – another mission for Major Ram after 15 years – but decided to drop the idea as she felt that there are newer stories to tell.

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