EXCLUSIVE: Siddharth Anand reveals Hrithik Roshan was also a choice for Ranbir Kapoor starrer Bachna Ae Haseeno; says Aditya Chopra upped the budget after Saawariya failed at box office

February 4, 2023 - 6:30 PM IST

Siddharth Anand is currently riding high on the success of Pathaan, which stars Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. The team of the movie produced by Yash Raj Films decided not to do interviews before the release of the film. Siddharth has now been doing interviews and sharing his experience of directing a film that is setting records at the box office. In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, he talked about producer Aditya Chopra and his working style.

EXCLUSIVE: Siddharth Anand reveals Hrithik Roshan was also a choice for Ranbir Kapoor starrer Bachna Ae Haseeno; says Aditya Chopra upped the budget after Saawariya failed at box office

Siddharth Anand said, “I think I can't really put it in so many words. So, he's not a human being. He's unlike anybody else. He's an alien because he's so unaffected. I think everybody used the word humble, down to earth and stuff like that; ‘unaffected’ is the right word for success or failure. He marches on and does what is right for the film. When I say he's unlike anybody, I'll give you an example.”

The filmmaker added, “Very early on, we were starting a film called Bachna Ae Haseeno and we had signed on Ranbir Kapoor for the film when he was coming off of a film with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Saawariya. It had not come out and we had signed him for a second film. In our mind, we had Hrithik Roshan just after Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, that he will be the biggest superstar of the country, instant sensation, which he had the buzz around him. And we thought we'll make this film of this Casanova with four girls at that point in time. We'll mount it in that way. We have the flexibility and the budget ability to do that.”

“But unfortunately, the film (Saawariya) didn't do well,” added Siddharth. “We suddenly had a hero who we had to resurrect, in a way. Any producer at that point in time would say cut the budget, make it a smaller film, and let's make it more intimate. But Aditya Chopra did the opposite. So he said now we'll have to scale the film even more because we were depending on the stardom of an actor and now, it's gone. Now, it's a film that will actually have to carry it and bring audiences initially. So they're not coming to see the star, they come in to see the film. So that's what it is. He allowed me to scale it up in a way that we shot practically seven countries again. It is a love story, brought that scale in the songs and the scenes from Switzerland to Italy, Australia, to Thailand, where all and what not. So that's the man who just backs the film what it needs and doesn't look at you know, returns. So he's so honest to his craft,” he added.

Siddharth Anand reunites with Hrithik Roshan for the third time after Bang Bang and War in the upcoming film Fighter. The film will mark his reunion with Deepika Padukone too. It will release in theatres on Republic Day 2024.