Kunal Kohli On Yash Chopra Refusing To Put His Name On Saif-Rani’s Hum Tum

Kunal Kohli’s Hum Tum with Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji in the lead, is to date, one of the most loved rom-coms of all time. From Saif and Rani’s impeccable chemistry to the plot, and the cracker of a music album, the film continues to have a loyal fanbase.

The film was released in theatres on May 28, 2004.

However, recently at Indian Now and How, Kunal Kohli revealed that even though Aditya Chopra and he had full faith in the film’s potential, Yash Chopra begged to differ.

Speaking about how Yash Chopra did not want to invest much in the film, Kunal said, “Yash Chopra wasn’t very happy with Hum Tum’s script. He said Mujhse Dosti Karoge! is Mughal-E-Azam in front of it. He called the script ordinary and said it was a travel log. He agreed to give Rs 7.5 crore and refused to give a penny more. Only Aditya and I believed in the film.”

The director added, “Yash ji had even said that he would not put his name in the film if it didn’t work and would put Aditya Chopra’s name instead, but after watching the final cut, he appreciated the film and said, ‘I was wrong, you both were right.’ I had tears in my eyes. He said, ‘I will proudly put my name’.”

Hum Tum had an interesting concept where part of the film had animated sequences of cartoons. Kunal Kohli revealed how he brought down the cost to Rs 50 lakhs for the animation bits.

Kunal said, “I just kept basic sketches of the cartoons and removed the background, 3D, and everything.”

He also said that the Paris and New York sequences of the film were shot in Amsterdam to cut down on the budget. Karan Johar had helped in bringing stock images of New York when he was shooting Kal Ho Naa Ho there.

Kunal Kohli further revealed how the late Rishi Kapoor did not want to do a cameo role in Hum Tum. The reason is that he had only done big hero roles in YRF movies. However, he eventually caved.

Recalling the moment, Kunal shared, “Rishi ji told me, ‘I don’t do guest appearances in films, especially in a Yash Raj Films production, because I have always played a hero and done important films for them’.”

Kunal concluded by saying that several trade analysts had declared Hum Tum a flop, after watching it. However, the box office verdict for the film was a hit, and the rest is history.