‘Farah Khan abused, threw her chappal on me during Main Hoon Na shoot’: Zayed Khan reveals why director got angry

Actor Zayed Khan has recalled how filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan ‘abused and threw her chappal’ on him during the shooting of their film Main Hoon Na. In a new interview, Zayed revealed that Farah got angry after he shouted ‘cut’ on the sets. Zayed recalled that since they were shooting at a high altitude, they would face difficulties. (Also Read | Zayed Khan says its ‘God-given duty’ of parents from film industry to give their kids an opportunity)

Main Hoon Na (2004) was written and directed by Farah in her directorial debut. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Suniel Shetty, Amrita Rao, and Zayed. Main Hoon Na was filmed at St Paul’s School in West Bengal.

In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Zayed talked about shooting for the film. “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 (Do as many takes you want)’. There was a discipline on set. Also, we were on a high attitude. After giving one take, haalat kharab ho jaati thi (it was tough for us). 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 bl***y set. I’ll say Cut’. Finally, the unit members realise that the poor guy is lying down. He was rescued. Then we did it again and it went on very smoothly.”

Zayed made his acting debut with the 2003 film Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne. He later gained fame with his roles in Main Hoon Na, Shabd, and Dus. He was last seen on the TV show Haasil.

Zayed has been away from the limelight for a long time but is all set to return to films. His comeback project is titled The Film That Never Was. Apart from Zayed, Jackie Shroff is also part of the film being helmed by Mohit Shrivastav.