Did you have Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan in mind when you wrote this film?
Rani was quite strongly in mind when I wrote the film. I have a very good working relationship with Rani. She is one of the few people who supported me when people were making fun of Mujhse Dosti Karoge. Whenever any director writes a film, he writes with the image of an actor he has in mind. I wrote it with someone like Aamir Khan in mind. When I finished the script, I thought it was too young a character for Aamir to portray. I thought Saif fit the bill quite well. In a recentinterview, you said that you weren’t confident about Saif Ali Khan until Kal Ho Naa Ho happened. I never said I was not confident about Saif. Also, it is not just my conviction that was needed. Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra, who put in the money, had to be convinced about this project. Just the director having confidence in somebody is not enough. The producer has to back the project. They [Aditya and Yash Chopra] back films. They don’t back projects. They are not like, “Let’s make a film with this hero because
