Sushmita Sen recalls how 'power of people' made her role 'impactful' in Shah Rukh Khan, Farah Khan's Main Hoon Na

Helmed by Farah Khan in her directorial debut, the masala entertainer Main Hoon Na featured Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Suniel Shetty, Amrita Rao, and Zayed Khan in the leading roles. Though Sushmita's screentime in the film was limited, the actress made a huge impact and her chemistry with Shah Rukh was widely appreciated.

In a recent interview, the former Miss Universe recalled how Main Hoon Na turned out to be a career-defining movie for her. Speaking with Humans of Bombay, the actress said, "It became career-defining, of course, because everybody keeps going back to Main Hoon Na; it definitely was that. I must give you a little anecdote on this; it was actually quite funny when Farah called me and said, 'Sush, I have seen the final edit and I have to apologise to you. Shah Rukh, of course, has the role; Zayed (Khan), Amrita (Rao), everybody has a role; you are barely there.' So, I'm just like, 'Well, that's okay, Farah; we had a deal; you kept through the promise; I kept through it; it's done; don't worry about it.' But inside I was thinking, 'Oh, I'm barely there in the film—not that I had shot a lot, but still barely there in the film.'"

"The screening happens at Film City, and my phone starts ringing. I don't know why Yash Chopra and the whole gamut of the industry are calling. I pick up the phone, and I hear them saying, 'Kya kaam kiya hai bacche, I couldn't take my eyes off of you; it's just an interval; I hope you are in the second half in every frame.' And I am just like, 'Oh, it's just an interval,' and I didn't go for the screening because I'd feel bad watching like I am barely there, and I missed out on that because, from that response, I knew something had changed. The role hadn't changed, but the impact had. The role was still as small as it was, but it was powerful enough", Sushmita continued.

The actress further added how the posters of the film were changed after its release as she concluded, "The reaction of the audience was so intense that the first posters of Main Hoon Na all over Bombay had Zayed Khan, Amrita Rao and Shah Rukh and Shah Rukh alone. By Saturday, after the film had released, there was Shah Rukh and me on every poster. That is the power of people and audience, and I have huge respect for that. The audiences were like 'We want her, we want to see her up there with him (Shah Rukh)'. Farah called me and said 'All the posters were being brought down and new ones are being put up. You better go for a drive today'. And I did."

After Main Hoon Na, Farah made the reincarnation drama Om Shanti Om which marked Deepika Padukone's Bollywood debut in 2007, Tees Maar Khan with Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in 2010, and returned to SRK-Deepika with Happy New Year in 2014. The choreographer-director still hasn't announced her next film yet.

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