19 Years Of Main Hoon Na EXCLUSIVE: “Shah Rukh Khan was such an AMAZING producer. When you come on the set, he makes you feel that you are the heart and soul of the film” – Zayed Khan

By Fenil Seta -

April 30, 2023 - 12:46 PM IST

The much-loved entertainer Main Hoon Na (2004) completed 19 years on April 30. It starred Shah Rukh Khan in the lead while Zayed Khan and Amrita Rao along with Sushmita Sen also had important parts to play. Zayed had debuted a year earlier with Chura Liya Hai Tumne (2003) and it's thanks to this Farah Khan film that he became a household name.

19 Years Of Main Hoon Na EXCLUSIVE: “Shah Rukh Khan was such an AMAZING producer. When you come on the set, he makes you feel that you are the heart and soul of the film” – Zayed Khan

On Main Hoon Na’s 19th anniversary, Zayed Khan exclusively spoke to Bollywood Hungama about the film and a lot more.

Your first film Chura Liya Hai Tumne didn’t work but Main Hoon Na was a smashing hit and is remembered even today. That film must have changed a lot for you…
It will be unfair to say this but even if I hadn’t done any other film besides Main Hoon Na, I would still be who I am right now! I met people who were my fans at that time. They have of course watched the film but when I meet their children, I find out that even they have seen Main Hoon Na. It’s such a great feeling since it helps me connect with the whole new generation.

Making movies at that time was such a beautiful experience. It was so much about camaraderie. Shah Rukh was such an amazing producer. When you come on the set, he makes you feel that you are the heart and soul of the film. Shah bhai and I got along like a house on fire. Farah is literally like my fifth sister. She fired me so much though!

In a podcast, Farah Khan revealed that you messed up a lot in the outburst scene. Instead of saying, ‘Mere dad army mein the’, you’d end up saying ‘Mere dad navy mein the’…
(Laughs) Meri Hindi itni khaas nahin thi. It was a long dialogue and in front of me were Shah Rukh Khan, Farah Khan and Kirron Kher. I practiced that dialogue for 2 months. But then on the set, I realized ki dialogue nikal hi nahin raha hai bahar. I was just not getting it right. Farah wanted to throw a chappal on me! Shah Rukh very sweetly took me aside. I learnt so many incredible qualities from that man. He told me, ‘I know this scene sounds like the one where you need to shout. But internalize it’. It was like a Eureka moment. Something opened up in my head. I understood the thought process. He made an actor out of me.

The meme from Main Hoon Na, ‘Sabke paas nahin hota Laxman’ has become iconic. How do you feel?
(Smiles) There’s no doubt that Lucky is an iconic character. If there’s a 100-year-celebration of cinema, Main Hoon Na will surely be there. There’s so much in the film that is relatable. Even today, some people ask me, ‘Ek baar bata do yeh college kahan hai? Mujhe wahin admission lena hai’!

Also, the guy Laxman is relatable. He’s a bit of a rebel but he’s good-hearted. Life has not been kind to him. He’s probably blaming everybody for it. Everyone goes through that, or at least 90% of them do.

What was more difficult – giving that speech or doing the one-take song ‘Chale Jaise Hawayein’?
This was a time when we were shooting on 400 feet of film and not on digital. So it was not like ‘Jitne bhi takes chahiye, le lo’! There was a discipline on set. Also, we were on a high attitude. After giving one take, haalat kharab ho jaati thi. I remember, during the shoot, the camera captured Amrita Rao and was coming towards me. Everyone around me was like ‘Be ready, be ready, be ready’. The dancers had done it too many times. Anyway, the camera panned towards me and one of the dancers next to me fell down. He got a fit as he was so exhausted. I didn’t know what to do. I started performing but then I realized I’d have to dance over this chap. I thought, ‘This cannot be my introduction’!

So, I said ‘Cut’. And Farah got so angry. She abused the hell out of me and also threw her chappal on me! I told her, ‘How do you expect me to dance over somebody who is dying, man’! She thundered, ‘You can’t say Cut on my bloody set. I’ll say Cut’. Finally, the unit members realize that the poor guy is lying down. He was rescued. Then we did it again and it went on very smoothly.

When I came on board, I didn’t know how to dance the Bollywood way. I could dance in a nightclub and go mad. But to do 1-2-3-4 steps was not easy for me. Even during ‘Mohabbat Hai Mirchi’, I faced a tough time. I was an American kid who just came back and it seemed so bizarre to me. And this was a part of the problem. I didn’t buy into it wholeheartedly. I had to literally make it muscle memory rather than believing in it.

How did the back hand gesture come about?
Farah came to me and Shah Rukh and said, ‘Can you both do something which will make viewers seem like you both are brothers?’. She was suggesting that maybe we can wear the watch in a similar way and there were a few more ideas. Meanwhile, I was wearing hair extensions. It used to irritate me and I used to pull my hair. Shah Rukh once saw me doing it and said, ‘Just do that again’. I told him, ‘Why don’t you wear these bloody extensions?’! He insisted that I do it again. I did and he said, ‘Let’s do this together’. It’s so strange everybody relates to it, even today.

The discipline at that time was different. When ‘Action’ would be called, everyone would give their best as money was rolling. No one could waste film. Nowadays, when someone goofs up, the director would be like ‘No problem, let’s do it again’. Hence, woh discipline nahin raha. Then, there was a lot of finesse in the process.