Did you know Saif Ali Khan replaced Aamir Khan in 'Omkara' for THIS reason?

Saif Ali Khan's crime drama Omkara has been adapted from the classic novel Othello by Shakespeare. Apart from Saif, the movie also starred Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu and Kareena Kapoor Khan. The film, shot in a small Indian town, and was screened at multiple film festivals and even bagged a few awards. That film marked Saif Ali Khan's first negative role in a Bollywood film. However, did you know that Saif wasn’t the first choice for Vishal Bhardwaj’s directorial film? Here’s taking a look who was the Vishal’s first choice and why did he replace him.

In an interview with an entertainment portal, Saif revealed that the role of Langda Tyagi was first approached to Aamir Khan. Vishal showed him the script, and he was ready to discuss the character. However, the actor further went on to say that Aamir wanted to alter things. And that’s when Vishal decided not to compromise on how he had envisioned Omkara and the character of Langda Tyagi and that’s when Vishal approached Saif for the film.

The actor further revealed that he was shooting for a different film at that time. He added that he decided to change his on-screen persona and evolve as an actor. He further went on to recall a conversation with his mother, Sharmila Tagore who suggested him with conviction. She told him that he should find a Shakespearean role as then he will get what he wants. To this Saif replied, "Where do I find Shakespeare, I don't know if anyone is even adapting it." And that's when he got a call from the director.

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More about the film

It's reported that Omkara was a bigger critical hit than commercial success. Despite this, the one reason that kept the family audience mostly away from the theatres was the use of harsh words. To the larger Hindi-speaking audience, not only was the dialect a little nonsensical, the frequently used profanities held the viewers away, even though it matched the film's premise. The film managed to garner over ₹42,41,20,000 reportedly. The film is an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Othello," a politically conscious enforcer's misplaced confidence in his lieutenant leads him to accuse his wife of unfaithfulness.

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