Zayed Khan recalls SRK asking ‘can you act’ before Main Hoon Na casting: ‘I felt bad’

Shah Rukh Khan and Zayed Khan

Farah Khan's Main Hoon Na, which came out in 2004, had Shah Rukh Khan in the lead alongside a cast that included Zayed Khan, Suniel Shetty, and Sushmita Sen. Recently, Zayed talked about how he got the role in an interview with the YouTube channel Couple of Things. He mentioned that before the final casting, Shah Rukh had even asked him, "Can you act?" Zayed confessed that this question hurt his feelings at the time.

Shah Rukh Khan questioned Zayed Khan's acting before Main Hoon Na

During the interview, Zayed Khan recalled how Farah called him to meet at Shah Rukh Khan's office. He said, "Farah looks at me and I tell her that ‘Farah, firstly, I don't know why am I here but… She says ‘just shut up for two minutes'. I felt she is very rude. I am like trying my level best to make conversation and Shah Rukh walks in. He is usual Shah Rukh, very sweet, very loving, very well-mannered"

He continued, "I was just listening to him but couldn't really compute. Then he says that we have called you about the second lead part in Main Hoon Na I couldn't say anything so he goes ‘yeh sab idhar udhar ki baatein band karte hain (Let's leave all these unimportant things), I just want to ask one question ‘Kya tum actor ho? Acting kar sakte ho?' Mujhe bada bura laga ki aise mujhse kisine aise baat kia (I felt bad when he asked whether I can act). Maine bola I was born to act. It came from a point of view that I wasn't trying to be arrogant or anything. I was feeling very bad that he asked me that can you act? I wanted to ask him can you act? When I answered, he just chucked the question."

About Shah Rukh Khan's Main Hoon Na

Main Hoon Na (which means "I'm Here") is a 2004 Hindi movie directed by Farah Khan and produced by Gauri Khan under Red Chillies Entertainment. It was Farah's first time directing a film. The cast includes Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Suniel Shetty, Amrita Rao, and Zayed Khan, along with Kirron Kher, Murali Sharma, Kabir Bedi, Boman Irani, and Naseeruddin Shah. The story follows Major Ram Prasad Sharma, who goes undercover as a college student to protect a general's daughter from a dangerous ex-soldier.