Shah Rukh rejected Rang De Basanti

Shah Rukh Khan

If all had gone well, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti would have starred Bollywood's two Khans, Aamir and Shah Rukh, together.

King Khan's reasons

Shah Rukh Khan was the first choice for Madhavan's role in the film, and Mehra left no stone unturned in persuading him to accept the offer.

According to sources, "There were two reasons that King Khan said no to Mehra. Firstly, he did not want to play second fiddle to Aamir Khan."

The second reason why SRK gave a thumbs-down to RDB was, "He did not like the role. He found Madhavan's role too small in length and thought it lacked depth, compared to Aamir's character. To tell you the truth, he was shocked that someone was offering him a 15-minute role in a film."

When contacted, Mehra confirmed to hitList, "Yes, I did offer Madhavan's role to Shah Rukh. SRK was my first choice to play Flight Lieutenant Ajay Rathod's character, opposite Soha Ali Khan. We met and I narrated the whole role to him. But things didn't work out. He could not give me the dates I wanted." Was it only the dates that could not bring SRK and Mehra together? "Well, when things don't work out, there is always more than one reason," quipped Mehra, who also directed Amitabh Bachchan-starrer, Aks. Asking Madhavan to step into SRK's shoes is a big surprise. Didn't the equity of the project decrease? "Others may look at it that way, but I don't," Mehra shot back.

Mehra's next Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has not yet zeroed in on his next project. "I have two screenplays and three stories on my table. Let's see which one I go for. I haven't made my final choice as yet. Casting will begin only later." "Will he have SRK in his next project? "It's early days to make a comment on that. First let me concretise what exactly I am going to make next," Mehra signed off.

thanks... and shahrukh i think you should've slapped this chap and said "hello! u r talking to the king!!"
stupid mehra.

Doing a small role..a guest role is not rong..many great stars have done it. Abhishek did it in Humtum, Even amitabh did it in Baghban. When a star thinks beyond the screen and looks at the character, he becomes a greater star. I thought madhavan's role was a guest role, and there was nothing rong if Mehra approached sharukh for it. He doesnt become stupid for that and shahrukh in his own right has every reason to reject it.

i agree small roles arent bad...but he would be playing next to aamir and there would have been too much comparisson....so im glad srk didnt do it!

Originally posted by: vidyaah

Doing a small role..a guest role is not rong..many great stars have done it. Abhishek did it in Humtum, Even amitabh did it in Baghban. When a star thinks beyond the screen and looks at the character, he becomes a greater star. I thought madhavan's role was a guest role, and there was nothing rong if Mehra approached sharukh for it. He doesnt become stupid for that and shahrukh in his own right has every reason to reject it.

i agree with u =)

thanksss