Saif Ali Khan reveals why Vishal Bhardwaj refused him for Ajay Devgn’s Omkara role: ‘You’re too handsome’
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Star Saif Ali Khan of late shared the story behind landing one of the most memorable roles of his career, and it all began with a conversation he had with his mother, veteran star Sharmila Tagore. What started as a chat about Shakespeare took an unbelievable turn when filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj called him just moments later.
Adding to this, Why Vishal Bhardwaj cast Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi In conversation with IMDb, Saif recalled how the unexpected phone call eventually led him to play Langda Tyagi in Omkara, a performance that is still regarded as one of the finest of his career.
Meanwhile, Speaking about the incident, Saif shared he was shooting in Jaipur when his mother encouraged him to take up a Shakespearean role. “I was actually in Jaipur, and I was staying in this hotel, shooting for something, I can’t remember what. My mom had just spoken to me, and she shared, ‘Yeah, you’re becoming an interesting star, and I like how you’re developing. You should do Shakespeare.’ I shared, ‘That’d be great if I could.’ And then she suggested, ‘You should do Othello or something.’ Then the phone rang. It was Vishal Bhardwaj. He shared, “I’m thinking of offering a movie to you. I’m thinking of doing Shakespeare.” I was like, “What?” He shared, “Yes, Othello.” I went, “What?””
Notably, At first, Saif believed Vishal wanted him to play Othello, a role that was eventually portrayed by Ajay Devgn as Omkara. But the filmmaker had a completely different character in mind. “He came over and started telling me about it. I asked, ‘Should I play Othello?’ He shared, ‘No, no, you’re too handsome to play Othello.’ (laughs) Which is… well, that was his way of saying it. But then he shared, ‘I’m offering you a very interesting role.’ He offered me the part of Langda Tyagi.”
As per the latest buzz, Saif admitted he couldn’t help but ask Vishal what made him think of him for the role. The filmmaker opened up that his performance in Dil Chahta Hai convinced him. The answer caught the star completely off guard, as he never imagined his charming role in the coming-of-age movie would lead to being cast as the menacing Langda Tyagi.
In further updates, Saif Ali Khan will next star in Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan along with Akshay Kumar. The first look posters were unveiled on July 15 and will be rolled out in theatres on September 11, 2026.
Source: Hindustan Times