Saif Ali Khan 'was quite a clown' on Dil Chahta Hai sets, says Suchitra Pillai; recalls she 'fell down' on meeting him

Actor Suchitra Pillai took a trip down memory lane as her movie Dil Chahta Hai clocked 20 years. In an interview, she spoke about her co-star, actor Saif Ali Khan and how she fell down on first meeting him. She also said that actors Aamir Khan and Akshaye Khanna had no starry airs about them but recalled Saif 'was quite a clown on the set'.

Dil Chahta Hai (2001) featured Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna as three friends and how their coming of age stories. The film also starred Preity Zinta, Sonali Kulkarni and Dimple Kapadia. It marked the directorial debut of Farhan Akhtar.

In an interview with SpotboyE, Suchitra Pillai said, "I went to his office we were talking about the script and then he says, 'oh by the way meet Saif Ali Khan, he is your co-star and I really fell down over there. I was very surprised because Saif at that point was doing all the hit films and I was cast opposite him. I didn't have to audition but Farhan made us act the scene on the spot. We (Saif and I) were asked to jog in his office and that's the scene in the film. Farhan has always been like that, funny, and that’s why I had complete confidence about him giving me that role. I knew whatever Farhan writes is going to be something fantastic which is why even a small role of like that today is remembered."

On working with Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Akshaye Khanna, she said, "There was no 'I am the star' kind of attitude at all. None of the three boys had that air about themselves. Frankly, Saif was quite a clown on the set. During the shoot of the song Koi Kahin, Saif and I, along with the boys had to discuss something, but Saif would come and whisper some nonsense or the other in my ears, which would make me lose my concentration and start laughing, which made Farhan mad. But really Saif is a wonderful guy, a pure class. And even Aamir and Akshaye they were all good."

In a recent interview with PTI, Farhan had said, "There was never a point where I thought, let's discover where these three characters are 20 years later. I have not thought about that at all, to be honest."