We all admire Kamal Haasan for his tenacity and marketing spirit. He has now announced that Saif Ali Khan was always within his radar to play a role in his planned bilingual thriller Amar Hain.
But our sources reconfirm that Haasan, in his capacity as producer-director and actor, had also offered the part to Abhishek Bachchan, who politely refused.
Although Haasan has cast popular Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee in Hey Ram, it seems to be tough going now. A senior actor, it is learnt, also nixed an offer in Amar Hain, since he was shocked to discover his role was a subsidiary one of a villain “on the lines of Ranjeet” of yore.
And an impeccable source says that some years ago, Haasan had planned a sci-fi film a la Planet Of The Apes. None other than Amitabh Bachchan was offered a significant part, to which Bollywood's senior-most superstar had responded rather sadly, asking a friend, Tell me, do I look like a simian from any angle?
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