Homi Adajania says not even Saif Ali Khan or Naseeruddin Shah enquired about his filmmaking experience prior to Being Cyrus: ‘They assumed I was an ad director’

Homi Adajania, who made his directorial debut with Saif Ali Khan-starreer dark comedy Being Cyrus 18 years ago, recently said that finding a financier for the film was an uphill task. The movie, which revolves around a dysfunctional Parsi family, was released in English and also featured Naseeruddin Shah and Dimple Kapadia.

While talking about casting the actors, Adajania recalled they didn’t ask him if he had done a film earlier, and was impressed by his narration. “Nobody asked me if I had done a film before. Neither Saif nor Naseeruddin Shah or Dimple Kapadia asked me if I had made a movie before. They assumed that I was an ad filmmaker. They didn’t know I was sitting in my lungi, on a jetty, in Lakshwadeep catching fish,” reminisced Adajania, who also directed Cocktail and Finding Fanny. The filmmaker was in conversation with Cyrus Broacha, on his YouTube Channel.

Behind the scene photos of Saif Ali Khan from Cocktail

Cocktail Movie – Superhit Comedy Scenes | Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan & Diana Penty

10 years of Saif Ali Khan’s Cocktail

Celebrating 10 years of friendship, love & a lot of fun! 💕💯
Tell us your fav scene from #Cocktail in the comments! 😁#10YearsOfCocktail#DineshVijan #SaifAliKhan @deepikapadukone @DianaPenty #DimpleKapadia @bomanirani #HomiAdajania #ImtiazAli #MaddockFilms pic.twitter.com/W4B2LPahXy

— Maddockfilms (@MaddockFilms) July 13, 2022

8 years of Cocktail | Saif Ai Khan, Deepika Padukone & Diana Penty

Sara Ali Khan walks out of the father-daughter film with Saif for ‘Hindi Medium’ sequel?

It was reported that Filmistaan director Nitin Kakkar had cracked an interesting casting coup for his next film. He had roped in Saif Ali Khan to share screen space with his real-life daughter Sara Ali Khan.

Our source tells us, “The father-daughter drama was supposed to roll out in March 2019. They were talking about shooting it in London and Mumbai. Though Saif and Sara had not signed the contract, they had agreed verbally. The team was also looking out for an older heroine to play Sara’s mother.”

But now, the project has reportedly been shelved. Reveals our informer, “Sara walked out of the film. She has given her dates to another project.” She will apparently make her debut this year with Rohit Shetty’s Simmba while Kedarnath has been pushed for an early 2019 release.

That’s not all. Since the film was going to bring Sara and Saif together for the first time, her dad, too, might take a similar route. The khabri informs, “Saif was keen on doing the film only because it had Sara as the leading lady. Although it’s a great script, he, too, is reconsidering the offer.” Meanwhile, we hear he might shoot for Anurag Basu’s next project around the same time.

Apparently, Sara is back in the Hindi Medium sequel. “After Irrfan fell sick, the sequel was put on hold. But recently, producer Dinesh Vijan and director Homi Adajania narrated the script to Irrfan, who’s on the road to recovery. The actor has liked the idea and the makers are expected to begin the shoot sometime next year. Since the sequel will have a time lapse of 10 years, Sara, who was the original choice, is right for it,” the source adds.

Dinesh Vijan talks about working with Saif Ali Khan

He has made various kinds of cinema — dark comedy, spy thriller, cute romances and complex relationships. His cinematic sensibility is cut from a different cloth, often not tailored for the usual Bollywood design. Yet, he makes the cut with subjects that are spiked with a heady mix of characters. Producer Dinesh Vijan, who has backed films like ‘Being Cyrus’, ‘Finding Fanny’, ‘Love Aaj Kal’, ‘Cocktail’ and ‘Badlapur’, turns director with the upcoming ‘Raabta’, starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon. In a chat with BT, he tells us about his school of cinema, pushing boundaries and how his mistakes made him a better filmmaker. Read on…
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