Actress was ‘scared’ to kiss the lead hero on-screen, later the film became superhit, won 18 awards, earned Rs…, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan rejected it because…

Made in a budget of Rs 8 crore, the film earned Rs 21 crore in India, and grossed Rs 42 crore worldwide. Can you guess its name?

Kunal Kohli’s Hum Tum (2004) made headlines for several reasons, one of them being the much-talked-about kissing scene between lead actors Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji. A few years ago, in an interview, Saif recalled that while the kissing shot looked great on-screen, it was rather uncomfortable for them.

Saif recalled that Rani was scared to do the scene and was being extra ‘nice’ to him, only to later ask him to tell the makers that he didn’t wish to do the scene. Surprisingly, when Saif agreed to her demand, Rani hesitantly agreed. Later, Saif called it ‘the worst kiss in the history of Indian cinema’. He said that despite being ‘awkward’, the two still went ahead and did the scene.

Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan rejected Hum Tum because…

Before Saif Ali Khan was finalised as the lead, Kunal Kohli had approached Aamir Khan and Hrithik Roshan for Hum Tum. In an interview, the filmmaker revealed why the two superstars turned down the film and how the Omkara actor came on board. While speaking to Indian Express, Kunal said, “Hrithik loved the script. He said, ‘I am not confident of the films I am doing right now, I don’t know how many of them will work or what will happen to them, and I don’t know whether I am in the right frame of mind to do this.’ He said to wait for a couple of his films to release and then let’s take a call. But Adi (Aditya) felt it would be too long to wait for two years, see how his films fare and then decide, so he suggested we let this go. Because even Hrithik wasn’t sure if he will do it, he was very honest that he is not sure if he is right for this space.”

Recalling why Aamir Khan rejected the film and how Saif agreed to do the part, Kunal added, “I don’t remember if we approached him before or after Hrithik. But Aamir was going through his divorce with Reena and told us, ‘I am not even in that frame of mind right now. It is a rom-com, I am not sure, I will give it a miss.’ He wasn’t in that space. So we were like ok no problem. I thought I will make something else. I remember there was a subject of a prisoner of war escaping from a camp. I told Adi let’s work on this because who do we cast for Hum Tum, there was no one. Then suddenly he said let’s take Saif, every scene of yours is perfect with him. Within 30 seconds I said he’s perfect.”

Made in a budget of Rs 8 crore, Hum Tum earned Rs 21 crore in India, and grossed Rs 42 crore worldwide. The film bagged 18 awards, including Saif Ali Khan winning National Award for Best Actor. The romantic comedy had an ensemble star cast of supporting actors including Kirron Kher, Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Shergill, Rati Agnihotri, Isha Koppikar, and Abhishek Bachchan in a cameo appearance.