Back in the 1990s, it was common for superstars to juggle multiple films at the same time. Shah Rukh Khan, like many of his contemporaries, was known for churning out multiple hits in a single year. In a recent interview, Kal Ho Naa Ho director Nikkhil Advani shared an interesting anecdote about Shah Rukh’s habit of criticising the film he was currently working on while praising another project he was involved in simultaneously.
Speaking to Galatta Plus, Nikkhil recounted how during the making of Kal Ho Naa Ho, Shah Rukh expressed that the film was “rubbish” but heaped praise on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas, calling it “fantastic.” Nikkhil noted that this behaviour was typical of Shah Rukh, who would often downplay one project in favour of another he was shooting concurrently. “When we were doing Mohabbatein, or was it Kuch Kuch Hota Hai… I think Mohabbatein, Shah Rukh was shooting for Hey Ram. And Shah Rukh has a habit of coming for a meeting where he says that the film he is making with you is rubbish, you should be seeing the other film. In Kal Ho Naa Ho, he said Devdas is fantastic, Kal Ho Naa Ho is rubbish. He has that habit,” Nikkhil shared.
Nikkhil brought up this anecdote while discussing his upcoming show, Freedom At Midnight, which is set in the same time period as Kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram. Hey Ram featured a cameo by Shah Rukh Khan, who did not charge for his role, underscoring his camaraderie with Kamal. At the trailer launch of Indian 2 in Mumbai, Kamal shared, “When we worked together, we were all just people. I don’t see a superstar; he doesn’t see a super director. We are friends. As a matter of fact, Shah Rukh saab made that film (Hey Ram) for free. What more do you need?” Despite not being a box office hit, Hey Ram was well-received by critics and was India’s official entry to the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film.
In a previous interview with Colors Cineplex, Kamal revealed that Shah Rukh participated in Hey Ram in exchange for a wristwatch and retained the rights to the Hindi version of the film. “He did the film for a wristwatch. He got the rights, he said… But I was so happy because he deserves it. If it was Rs 100 crore, he deserves another Rs 100 crore for that. I never thought about the film’s value now, because he deserves it, and he is a partner of Hey Ram, and it’s rightful that the Hindi rights are with him. I’m so glad,” Kamal said.
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