Exclusive: Saif Got Slapped Thrice- Saiyami Kher on Suchitra Pillai Recreating Dil Chahta Hai Scene

More than two decades later, Saif Ali Khan is set to reunite on screen with one of his Dil Chahta Hai co-stars, Suchitra Pillai. Pillai, who played Khan’s character Sameer’s girlfriend Priya in the cult classic, will share the screen with him again in Priyadarshan’s upcoming film Haiwaan.

In an exclusive chat with Filmfare, Haiwaan actress Saiyami Kher opened up about some of the memorable moments from the sets of the upcoming film. And given the history between Saif and Pillai, one particular moment involving the two actors naturally brought Dil Chahta Hai back into conversation.

In the film, Pillai’s character famously slaps Sameer during a confrontation between the two. Kher revealed that the scene was recreated spontaneously on the sets of Haiwaan, with Saif and Pillai actually doing three takes of it, meaning Saif ended up getting slapped three times.

Recalling the moment, Kher tells us, “Suchitra ma’am, who was in Dil Chahta Hai with Saif sir, is also in Haiwaan. They are working together after 25 years. We were just sitting around waiting for the lighting to happen, and they started talking. Then we started talking about Dil Chahta Hai, and we said, ‘Guys, let’s just recreate that scene.’ So they did three takes of that scene and Saif sir got slapped thrice! But it was so lovely. That scene is so iconic.”