Shah Rukh Khan is unarguably one of the biggest movie stars Indian cinema has ever produced. However, he is also one of the rare superstars who started their careers, as a villain. Before emerging as the most-loved romantic hero in the country, Shah Rukh Khan proved his immense talent as an actor, by playing out and out negative roles in films like Abbas-Mustan’s Baazigar, and Yash Chopra’s Darr.
When it comes to Baazigar, did you know the blockbuster movie was offered to many popular stars before Shah Rukh Khan stepped in to play the role of revenge-driven Ajay Sharma in the film? During his recent appearance in Untriggered with Aminjaz, senior actor Dalip Tahil, who played a pivotal role in the romantic thriller, revealed the story behind casting the leading man of the 1993-released film.
Dalip Tahil reveals why popular stars refused to play Shah Rukh Khan’s role in Baazigar
According to the senior actor, Shah Rukh Khan’s character Ajay Sharma alias Vicky Malhotra in the film broke all pre-existing images of a Bollywood leading man. In this film, the leading man brutally kills one of the leading ladies (played by Shilpa Shetty Kundra), which was a totally unconventional creative choice at that point in time. This led many leading superstars of Hindi cinema to reject Baazigar, despite it being a project helmed by Abbas-Mustan, one of the most-loved directors duo. However, Shah Rukh Khan, who later stepped in to play the lead role, was extremely confident about the film’s fate.
Baazigar producer fell into depression after the film’s first screening
Interestingly, Dalip Tahil also revealed how the film’s producer fell into ‘deep depression’ after the first screening, believing it is going to end up as a massive disaster. “The producer at one point in time was in deep depression. He said, ‘You know, this movie is going to bomb. Nobody is gonna give me any money. Nobody is gonna distribute it. I’m finished. Ruined’,” recalled the senior actor.
“Baazigar was really very different. Because in this movie, traditionally, the leading man is the leading man. You don’t go around killing the leading lady. Which is what Shah Rukh did in the film. I mean, he chucked her off the roof. So, he’s like a murderer. Shah Rukh was absolutely confident that everything was okay. He said it was done for a reason, obviously. And it became an iconic movie. It’s just amazing, it broke the set formula,” Dalip Tahil concluded.
