Sushmita Sen reveals Farah Khan apologised to her after Main Hoon Na as she was 'barely there' in the Shah Rukh movie
Sushmita Sen discusses her Main Hoon Na role and how it gained popularity. She also recalled Farah Khan said sorry to her after seeing the film's final edit.
In a new interview, Sushmita Sen opened up about being crowned Miss Universe 1994 and her journey as an actor. She told Humans of Bombay how her character Chandni Chopra in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Main Hoon Na (2004) was 'small but powerful enough'. She recalled late filmmaker Yash Chopra's response to her role, and how all Main Hoon Na posters across Mumbai were taken down a day after the release, and new posters featuring Sushmita with Shah Rukh Khan were put up in their place. Also read: 'Farah Khan abused, threw her chappal on me during Main Hoon Na shoot', Zayed Khan says
Sushmita on how Farah apologised to her
Sushmita said that Main Hoon Na became career-defining because everybody ‘keeps going back' to the film. Speaking with Humans of Bombay, Sushmita said, "Farah Khan called, my director, and said, 'Sush, I have seen the final edit and I have to apologise to you. Shah Rukh of course has the role, Zayed and Amrita have a role, but you are barely there'. So I was like, 'That is okay Farah, we had a deal, you kept through the promise, and I kept through it. It is done, now don't worry about it'. But inside I was thinking, 'Oh no, I am barely there!' The (Main Hoon Na) screening happened at Film City. My phone starts ringing. And I don't know why Yash ji (Yash Chopra) is calling me, the whole gamut of the industry is calling. So ab darr darr ke (scared) I pick up the phone."
Reaction to her Main Hoon Na role
Sushmita recalled being told ‘you have done amazing work, could not take my eyes off of you' and ''hope you are in the second half and every frame'. The actor said that she didn't go for the screening because she thought she would ‘feel bad watching the film’ as Farah had told her she is 'barely there'.
She added, "From the response I knew something had changed. The role had not changed, the impact had. The role was still as small as it was, but it was powerful enough. The reaction of the audience was so intense that the first posters of Main Hoon Na all over Bombay had Zayed Khan, Amrita Rao and Shah Rukh and Shah Rukh alone. By Saturday, after the film had released, there was Shah Rukh and me on every poster. That is the power of people and audience, and I have huge respect for that... the audiences were like 'We want her, we want to see her up there with him (Shah Rukh)'. Farah called me and said 'All the posters were being brought down and new ones are being put up. You better go for a drive today'. And I did.”
About Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na was written and directed by Farah Khan and marked her directorial debut. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Suniel Shetty, Amrita Rao and Zayed Khan. It follows Major Ram Sharma (Shah Rukh), who is sent on an undercover mission as a university student to protect a general's daughter (Amrita) from a dangerous rogue soldier.
Ram falls in love with the chemistry professor, Chandni (Sushmita). Initially scheduled for release in 2003, Main Hoon Na released on April 30, 2004, and received positive reviews from critics.