Apr 28, 2025 01:14 PM IST
Saif Ali Khan’s standout role in Omkara stunned the audience but there was another superstar who wanted to play the main villain in Vishal Bharadwaj’s film.
When Vishal Bhardwaj‘s Omkara hit the screens in 2006, one character that stood out and surprised the audiences was Saif Ali Khan‘s Langda Tyagi. The actor’s diction, look, and performance left cinemagoers and critics stunned. However, you would be surprised to know that Saif wasn’t the first choice for the role. In fact, Aamir Khan was keen to dig his teeth into the screenplay inspired by Shakespeare’s Othello.
(Also read: Akshay Kumar once warned Saif Ali Khan about ‘dangerous girl’ Kareena Kapoor during Tashan: ‘Don’t mess with her‘)
Aamir was ready to play the main villain
In a conversation with Friday Talkies, the film’s writer Robin Bhatt explained, “Aamir was ready to do the villain’s role. The second option was Saif Ali Khan. However, at one point, we decided that Aamir was not the right choice for the film.”
The screenwriter mentioned the makers picked Saif but they weren’t still convinced as they felt that Kal Ho Naa Ho actor would not be able to pick the local dialect of western UP.
But Robin was impressed with Saif’s persistence. “He took tuitions with an actor who would be there with him 24 hours. He cut his long locks and created the whole look, which caught everyone’s attention,” Robin said. He also mentioned that actor Deepak Dobriyal, who played the role of Rajan Tiwari, side-kick of Saif’s Langada Tyagi, was his main tutor on the sets. Saif would spend hours with Deepak to get the diction and performance right.
About Omkara
Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Omkara stars Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vivek Oberoi, Naseeruddin Shah and Bipasha Basu in lead roles. It is the second in Vishal’s trilogy of Shakespeare adaptations, which also includes Maqbool (2004) and Haider (2014). Omkara was a hit with the critics and earned three awards at the 54th National Film Awards: Best Supporting Actress for Konkana Sen Sharma, Best Audiography and Special Jury Award.
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