It has been more than 25 years since Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan have entered the film industry and yet these two legends of the industry are yet to do a film together. Though they have been a part of three films where they both had a special appearance, still doing a whole film together has been a far-fetched dream for the two actors and their fans.
Interestingly, both SRK and Aamir have contributed to each other’s careers in some way or the other. Here are two interesting facts about the same!
When Aamir’s Reject became SRK’s Stardom: Darr (1993)
They say that if there is a particular role that transformed Shah Rukh as an actor, it would be the role of Rahul Mehra in Yash Chopra’s Darr. Yes, the same year Baazigar too was released which had SRK in the lead, but his everlasting bond with the Yash Raj Production would be considered more important than anything else as his superstar status is because of the movies he did for them in the years to come. Interestingly, this same role wasn’t meant for SRK in the first place.
The role of Rahul Mehra was offered to Aamir Khan who rejected it because he did not like the wayYash Chopra had directed Parampara. And so Shah Rukh was offered the role which he accepted, and the rest is History. With movies like DDLJ and Dil Toh Pagal, Shah Rukh rose to stardom. He even met Karan Johar along the way too. Wonder how it wouldhave been like had Aamir taken the role. I guess we would never know!
The Role of Ashutosh Gowariker
At that time Ashutosh Gowariker was not the high prolific, multiple awards winning directer he is now. Then, he just used to be a small time actor. During Shah Rukh’s initial career, he did movies like Chamatkar and his famous Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, both of which had Gowariker in supporting roles. Since then, Gowariker had plans of casting King Khan in his movies, whenever he made one.
When Ashutosh first finished with the script of Lagaan, Shah Rukh was the first one to know about it, as the director was very keen on casting him as the lead Bhuvan. But Shah Rukh, didn’t have enough faith on Gowariker just yet and so the role was passed on to Aamir. The movie went on to become one of the rare Indian movies to be nominated for an Oscar. It was, by far, Aamir’s best movie. His career had just struck gold!
Next in line was Gowariker’s next, Swades. This time Aamir was the one who rejected the role and Shah Rukh grabbed it with both hands. Although, the movie tanked, it is considered among the best films Indian cinema has ever produced. It was also SRK’s most proclaimed performance until Chak De India and My Name Is Khan were released.
