Filmmaker Kunal Kohli recently recalled the filming of his film Hum Tum, which released 22 years ago. The film starring Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji continues to be one of the most iconic love stories of the era. While Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji’s chemistry in the film was hailed by many, the filmmaker recently revealed that the two actors simply couldn`t get along during the shooting of the film.
Kunal Kohli recalls Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan`s chemistry on sets
While speaking to NDTV, Kunal Kohli revealed how he pushed Rani and Saif to become friendlier with each other on sets. He recalled, “They were not particularly fond of each other off-screen. For the first half of the shoot it felt like team Rani and me, and Saif alone. Saif and I didn`t like each other and Saif and Rani didn`t like each other.”
He further revealed, “Then Saif and I spoke throughout the Amsterdam schedule. I said, `Listen, this film is very important. If it doesn`t work, you will not be a solo hero. You`ll only be doing second leads to Shah Rukh Khan like in Kal Ho Naa Ho. So let`s make this work.`” The director said that after warning Saif, everyone eventually got along much better on the set.
Kunal Kohli calls Rani-Saif`s kiss the `worst`
Kunal even recalled how Rani refused to do the kissing scene with Saif during the film’s song Saanson Ko Saanson Mein. He added that the actress ended up laughing during the take. He said, “We were shooting that whole night. At first, she said she wouldn`t do the kiss. Finally, she said, `Okay, I`ll do one take.` If you watch the take, she`s actually laughing; she`s lying on her side and moving because she`s laughing. When I saw it in the edit, I thought, she`s laughing. So yeah, it`s got to be one of the worst kisses of Hindi cinema.”
Hum Tum was produced by Aditya Chopra, under the Yash Raj Films banner. While the film featured Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji in lead roles, along with Rishi Kapoor, Kirron Kher, Rati Agnihotri and Jimmy Shergill in supporting characters. The film was believed to be loosely inspired by the American movie When Harry Met Sally.
During the filming of Hum Tum, Rani was already a major star, however, the film ended up being a big change in Saif’s career trajectory. He became widely credited as Bollywood’s first “metrosexual” hero. Saif even won his first National Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.
