25 Years of Kachche Dhaage EXCLUSIVE: Milan Luthria admits that it was difficult to convince Saif Ali Khan to do the film: “Ajay Devgn and I both assured him, ‘We promise you that more than Ajay’s character, we’ll take care of your character’”

By Fenil Seta -

February 19, 2024 - 6:30 PM IST

The grand action entertainer, Kachche Dhaage (1999), completed 25 years on February 19. It starred Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Manisha Koirala and Namrata Shirodkar in leading roles and was the directorial debut of Milan Luthria. Doing a two-hero film is always challenging but Milan pulled off a casting coup, that too, with his debut film. He got so comfortable with the two-hero setup that he repeated it in Taxi No 9211 (2006), Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010), Sultan Of Delhi (2023), etc. On Kachche Dhaage’s 25^th release anniversary, Milan Luthria exclusively spoke with Bollywood Hungama and explained the casting process.

25 Years of Kachche Dhaage EXCLUSIVE: Milan Luthria admits that it was difficult to convince Saif Ali Khan to do the film: “Ajay Devgn and I both assured him, ‘We promise you that more than Ajay’s character, we’ll take care of your character’”

Milan Luthria admitted at the very beginning that “It was very difficult to convince Saif to do the film.” He then said, “Ajay was on board right from the beginning. He helped me get the film as he had become a very good friend during my days with Mr Mahesh Bhatt. We used to hang out together. He told me, ‘Whenever you are ready, do tell me. I’ll do your film’. For an assistant director, it meant a lot. Then, Mr Ramesh Taurani stepped in and showed interest in signing me.”

Milan continued, “Saif, however, was a bit reluctant. He wanted to work with me, but he felt that the other character was more author-backed. Ajay and I both spoke to him and told him, ‘We promise you that more than Ajay’s character, we’ll take care of your character’. Ajay was obviously a bigger star, and he had a strong role. But we didn’t see it that way. We saw it as a two-hero film. We told him, ‘Either you trust us, and do it or you let it go’. He was finally convinced and signed the film.”

Milan Luthria then revealed, “Manisha Koirala, meanwhile, worked in Criminal (1994; in which Milan was the assistant director). She came on board. Namrata Shirodkar had signed a three-film deal with Tips. She had bagged Pukar (2000) and Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1998). I was in the Tips office when I saw her photograph. I found her quite pretty and I was told that she is a Tips talent. I met her and she was signed. She was a lovely girl and is a great friend even today.”

Finally, Milan Luthria stated, “As for the rest of the casting, we approached some big names. But they asked for a lot of money. The budget was going haywire as we had such prominent actors already. Also, the film had action, trains, horses, etc. We even had to hire choppers that we took all the way to Udaipur to shoot aerial shots of the train. Meanwhile, I saw Bandit Queen (1994) and discovered actors like Govind Namdev, Vineet Kumar, S M Zaheer, etc. I picked up a lot of actors from that film. Through them, I got into the NSD group which became popular much later. A lot of directors later cast from this pool. But Kachche Dhaage was one of the first commercial films to cast them.”

Also Read: 25 Years of Kachche Dhaage EXCLUSIVE: Milan Luthria opens up on Ajay Devgn’s SHOCKING accident during the UNFORGETTABLE train sequence: “He put his head back and a stone on the track hit his head. On the walkie-talkie, we said, ‘Roko, roko’. But motorman heard it as ‘Go, go’”