Vishal Bhardwaj reveals Aamir Khan wanted to play Langda Tyagi in Omkara, says nobody could imagine Saif Ali Khan in it

Saif Ali Khan's performance in Omkara is still considered one of his career best turns. Adapted from Othello by Vishal Bharadwaj, Saif Ali Khan starred as the antagonist Langda Tyagi. In an interview with Mid-Day, Vishal has now revealed how it was Aamir Khan who helped in the casting of the character of Langda Tyagi. (Also read: Vishal Bhardwaj confirms Haider 2 is not happening: There is no reason to make a sequel)

What Vishal said

Vishal said, “For Saif, I think, Aamir (Khan) is responsible for that… We were doing that film together, so I spent a lot of time with Aamir. He is a lovely company, and it’s fun to hang around with him. Aamir would share what he had in his mind and ask me what I had in my mind to plan for the future. So, I told him that I have this Othello, and this Langda Tyagi character with me. He said, 'Whenever you make this film, I want to be considered for this part.'"

How Said got cast in Omkara

The director then added that the concept of the film remained with him and years later, when he was ready to make the film, Aamir was busy with his own project: "I wasn’t working for one and a half years. I wanted to make a film desperately, so I thought if this character can excite Aamir so much, then I can excite another star with this. At the time, I had seen Saif’s work. When I saw Saif in Dil Chahta Hai, what Saif was before that, his voice was a little feminine, his performance would be ajeeb (weird). But in Dil Chahta Hai, he really worked on himself. In Dil Chahta Hai, he was a different Saif. I felt that he had a fire in him and had transformed himself. And he had shot up... He really (worked hard), except for cutting his hair. With great effort, we convinced him to cut his hair because he was not ready to cut it. Other than that he was more than I asked for."

Besides Saif, Omkara starred Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma and Vivek Oberoi. It released in India on July 28, 2006.

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