‘Preity Zinta spoke non-stop on set’

As Kya Kehna turns 17, Saif Ali Khan talks about his energetic and bubbly co-star Preity Zinta

Filmmaker Kundan Shah’s Kya Kehna (2000), was described as a film ahead of its time. Starring Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and Chandrachur Singh, it was about an unwed girl who got pregnant. Saif played the role of Preity’s lover, and later leaves her on learning about her pregnancy. He says that it was this role of the bad boy that made him come on board.

“The unique part about my character was that it was slightly negative, which was quite dynamic,” says Saif. Talking about how Shah made the character interesting for him, the actor says, “Shah isn’t a typical commercial director. He needed to find a story for the guy. He said a person who treats girls like this must have an issue with his mother. He wrote a scene where my character confronts his mum, and accuses her of being with other men. Later, one of the producers cut it out.” Shedding light on his experience of working with Preity, Saif says, “Preity was fun to work with—bubbly and energetic. She talked nonstop. Shah almost had a heart attack, not related to her, I hope and she asked him, ‘Sir, how is the heart attack?’ He said, ‘Very good,’” he quips.

Recalling some anecdotes, from the sets, Saif talks about an incident when he had a wardrobe malfunction. “We were shooting in Switzerland and I had to roll down a hill. I tore my black leather pants and you could see my white underwear. They printed [screened] it as they couldn’t get it again. I was hoping no one would notice,” he says.

PHOTO:YOGEN SHAH