Farah Khan says Shah Rukh Khan never questioned her casting calls

Filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan has said Shah Rukh Khan never questioned her casting decisions. She made the remarks on Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi's podcast Double Date, and she also criticised today's actors for wanting to interfere in filmmaking.

Khan recalled casting Sushmita Sen in Main Hoon Na. "Shah Rukh Khan never interfered with anything regarding casting. When I said Sushmita Sen will do Main Hoon Na, she was not so big at that time," she said. "Any big heroine would have said yes, but he said nothing."

She also described Om Shanti Om. Khan said she wanted a new girl for the film and showed him a picture. "He said, 'If you feel so, go ahead,'" she said.

Actors and the set

Khan said many actors now want to take part in departments beyond their own job. "In today's actors, nobody has confidence. They want to interfere everywhere," she said. She named choreography, music, direction and casting. She suggested this comes from a lack of confidence. "You have to trust everyone," she said.

Khan also said some actors chase magazine covers and awards before doing their work well. In Hindi, she remarked that actors want to appear on magazine covers and win awards, and should first make the film properly.

The remarks come as Khan has said in other interviews that the era of superstars is over. Her comments on Shah Rukh Khan and modern actors were made in a conversation and have not been put to the actors she named. Neither Shah Rukh Khan nor Sushmita Sen has responded publicly to the remarks.