20th anniversary EXCLUSIVE: “Salaam Namaste got NO cuts from CBFC; they were smiling at the end of the film”, reveals Siddharth Anand; shares the INSIDE story on why the Saif Ali Khan-Preity Zinta starrer was NOT shot in San Francisco
The much-loved romcom, Salaam Namaste (2005), completed 20 years on September 9. Starring Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta, the film is memorable for many reasons. The songs were and continue to be popular, the chemistry between the leads were electrifying and more importantly, it made the word ‘live in’ a household term. On this momentous occasion, its director Siddharth Anand spoke exclusively with Bollywood Hungama about some fascinating trivia about the film, whether they faced censor woes and a lot more.
How was Australia locked? Did you consider setting the film in any other country?
Salaam Namaste was originally set in San Francisco, USA. It was written with all the tropes of that city. When we got down to budgeting it, we realized we couldn’t afford it (laughs). Meanwhile, Melbourne is like a twin city of San Francisco. It has the trains, the trams and stuff like that. It came closest to the vision that I had for the film. Adi (producer Aditya Chopra) allowed me to explore options in Australia and choose the city I wanted in that country. Eventually, we landed in Melbourne. It was all destiny.
As per IMDb, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was considered for the role of Ambar. Is that true?
I don’t remember if anybody else was considered for Ambar’s role. As far as I remember, I only wanted Preity Zinta. I was really grateful and lucky that she came on board. She was the top star at that time. She was doing the biggest films of the country. I was really hoping that she’d say yes and that we’d get to see the special pairing of Saif and Preity on screen.
Jaaved Jaaferi was the surprise of the film. Could you please tell us how you guys got the idea of him mouthing ‘Eggjactly’?
Jaaved Jaaferi was and still is an extremely underutilized actor. We have really not tapped even the tip of the iceberg of his talent. He is so talented that the character of Dundee was a complete collaboration. Yes, a lot of it was written by Abbas Tyrewala within the film. A lot of the groundwork was also done by him. Then, Jaaved Jaaferi actually took it to the level that it is. It is the character that he helped co-create and a lot of credit goes to him for it.
A year before Salaam Namaste, Murder (2004) released and it proved that intimacy can be accepted in A-grade films, if done aesthetically. It also made kissing mainstream in my understanding; prior to Murder, one would hardly see kissing in our films. Did the success of Murder motivated you and the Chopras to take the plunge in Salaam Namaste?
I actually had no bother in the world or expectation to live up to. I was a carefree filmmaker. It didn’t matter to me whether what I was making would be accepted or not. I was just excited by what I was making. I had nothing to lose. So, there was nothing I had in my mind when I was making Salaam Namaste, except the fact that I was so excited to make it.
How did the Censors react to the film? Did they ask for any cuts?
I just remember the Censor Board people loving the film and smiling at the end of it (smiles). I don’t remember any cuts that the film had, now that I think of it. It had absolutely no cuts.
Did you visit cinemas to see the audience reaction to your debut film? How was the response?
I still go to the cinemas to see the audience reaction of every film. For my debut movie, I remember I went to at least 2-3 shows every day for a week. The reaction was unanimous. People were laughing and smiling. It was a fun atmosphere in the theatres.
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