Farhan Akhtar has many notable roles to his credit. Among them is Luck By Chance, an underrated gem that continues to hold a loyal fanbase.. The actor, during his recent appearance on mid-day’s Sit With Hitlist, revealed some interesting facts about Zoya Akhtar’s directorial debut.
Farhan Akhtar says Luck By Chance took seven years
Farhan Akhtar revealed how Luck By Chance took several years to come to fruition, despite Zoya having written the 2009 film long ago. He revealed, “Zoya had written Luck By Chance in 2002, and we were producing it. So for seven years, Ritesh (Sidhwani) and I were trying to cast that film with Zoya. I don`t know, her stars were not aligned there. Like every time she thought it was going to start, the rug would get pulled out from under her feet. To a point, she`d almost pretty much given up on that script.”
Further sharing how, after years of attempts, he decided to cast himself in the film. He shares, “We loved that script, and we kept trying to get it made, but somehow it just wasn`t the time. Actors were looking for different things to do. So when Rock On!! got made and Rock On!! I just told Zoya, ‘Listen, please let`s make that film’.”
Farhan Akhtar reveals his traumatic experience with a horse
Farhan revealed having a frightening experience with a horse during childhood, and how he managed to pull off a horse-riding scene in Luck By Chance. He recalls how he sat on a horse on Juhu beach as a kid, where the horse was supposed to walk till a point and then run back.
“So this one time that I had gone, when we turned around, the horse took off. The horseman couldn`t hold on to it anymore. So the horse galloped off. The horse decided to go faster. I was stuck on that horse, and because I was a kid, I couldn`t jump off. I was just holding on for dear life, and this horse just ran,” he revealed.
Recalling how he was saved, he shared, “Some other people came and tried to stop it. And then finally it stopped. But I had a traumatic experience of being on that horse. And after which I`ve never been comfortable sitting on a horse.”
He shared that he told Zoya that he wasn’t interested in learning a horse and that he would just hop onto the horse and get done with the shot.
Farhan recalls, “I met the horse. I fed it some biscuits and all that stuff. So that it could know who I am. But I got onto the back and they took me to point A. I had to gallop, so I just went. I told everyone, ‘Please don`t let anybody come in the way and scare the horse. Let the horse go, and at some point, this horse will stop by itself. It`ll get boring because nothing is happening.’”
He adds, “So I just went on the back of the horse. And I held on for dear life and tried to look as cool as I possibly could on that horse. And the horse ran, and they cut. The horse kept running. I went with the horse for a little while, but then finally the horse went into the water. And then when it was like roughly maybe just over knee deep for me, I just jumped off and left the thing. But yeah, that was my horse riding experience on Luck By Chance.”