Abbas-Mustan reveal Saif Ali Khan said yes to 'Race' without a thought after others rejected: 'He told us he'd do the film if we gave him great songs'
They had to approach several stars for the lead role, but many leading actors turned it down, calling it too difficult to decipher.
Abbas-Mustan says five big stars in Bollywood rejected Race
During a conversation with Lucky Bisht on YouTube, the director duo revealed that every character in the film had grey shades, and Bollywood's top stars struggled to grasp the story during the narration. 'They couldn't make head or tail of it. One of them said it felt like being repeatedly hit on the head with a hammer.
We considered these five actors very close friends,' the duo shared. The actors were reluctant to commit to a film they themselves could not fully understand.
Did you know Kareena Kapoor rejected Saif Ali Khan's marriage proposal twice? Find out why
Saif Ali Khan
wanted to break his romantic image with Race
The script's non-linear, twist-filled narrative seemed to confuse many actors of that era. It was their producer who recommended
Saif Ali
Khan for the lead role. Saif, who had been typecast in romantic hero roles, was eager to break away from that image. However, he too found the story hard to follow.
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'He didn't understand the script either, even after reading it four or five times. But he told us he'd do the film if we gave him great songs. It's another matter that he later went behind our back and tried to get out of the film,' they recalled.
Amitabh Bachchan's review after watching 'Race'
Saif eventually became the face of the franchise. The directors said their goal has always been to keep audiences guessing and engaged, which was evident in Race's twisting storyline.
They fondly recalled veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan's feedback after he happened to watch the film mid-flight. 'I sat stunned for three hours after watching the film. You did a great job,' Bachchan reportedly told them.
Saif once recounted an amusing incident on set during a conversation with East India Comedy. He remembered co-star
Bipasha Basu
discovering that the plot of Race bore a strong resemblance to the Hollywood film Goodbye Lover. She asked Abbas-Mustan about it, and they more or less admitted to having been 'inspired' by the Hollywood movie.
There is now talk of a potential fourth instalment, with Saif possibly returning to reprise his iconic role.
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