Farah Khan, Murali Sharma recall 'Main Hoon Na' stunt incident

Indian filmmaker Farah Khan visited actors Ashwini Kalsekar and Murali Sharma for a vlog, where a casual cooking session turned into a walk down memory lane, bringing early 2000s cinema nostalgia and highlighting the chaotic reality of filming pre-CGI action sequences.

The conversation centred around Farah's 2004 blockbuster directorial debut, Main Hoon Na, which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, and Suniel Shetty.

Sharma, who played the antagonist in the film, recalled that his first day on set came with a reality check. Fresh off his performance in the gritty crime drama Maqbool, Sharma attempted to bring a realistic, method-acting approach to his scenes.

However, he recalled that Farah, known for her sharp wit and love for grand commercial tropes, bellowed over a megaphone in front of 250 crew members, "Murali, what are you doing, darling? What is this Maqbool kind of acting? Don't make it so realistic."

The filmmaker noted that she regularly had to push actors out of their serious theatre shells, even doing the same for veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah.

Further, Farah and Sharma recalled that he had been rigged to a harness and instructed to exit a vehicle, floating up to the first floor during the shoot. However, as safety equipment in 2004 was basic and wirework was less advanced, the actor gripped the car door for stability. 

When the stunt crew pulled the wires, the machinery ripped the door right off its hinges. Instead of a clean lift, Sharma and the heavy car door flew into the air together, prompting a fit of laughter from the crew. According to Sharma, when superstar Shah Rukh Khan arrived on set later to watch the playback, he "rolled on the floor laughing."

Beyond discussing film sets, the vlog also gave fans a look into Sharma and Ashwini's 25-year relationship. Long before Sharma became a staple in Bollywood and South Indian cinema, he worked as a journalist. Ashwini jokingly remembered him as having an immense amount of attitude back then, which she said she gladly matched when they worked on television shows like Udaan and CID.