'Saare Jahan Se Achha' to 'Slumdog Millionaire': Films that Shah Rukh Khan turned down

Shah Rukh Khan has charmed fans for decades, be it his college-boy role in ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ or being a tough coach in ‘Chak De! India’ to essaying a doctor in ‘Dear Zindagi’. However, over the years, there have been several films that Badshah Khan has rejected, for different reasons. From space drama ‘Saare Jahan Se Achha’ to Hollywood film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ – here’s taking a look at films that SRK had to turn down.

Image Credit: Shah Rukh Khan Instagram account

Shah Rukh Khan was to play the lead in Rakesh Sharma’s biopic, which was reportedly titled ‘Saare Jahan Se Achaa’. However post the debacle of ‘Zero’, the actor reportedly got cautious about his future ventures and quit this film too. During a panel discussion, screenwriter Anjum Rajabali had expressed that SRK opted out of Rakesh Sharma's biopic because he was shaken up with the result of 'Zero'. Shah Rukh’s character in ‘Zero’ goes to Mars in the film and ‘Saare Jahan Se Achaa’ would feature the actor essaying the role of an astronaut. However, Anjum Rajabali had stated that SRK did not say no to the film because of the space angle.

Image Credit: Shah Rukh Khan Instagram Account

Hollywood films brings a lot of global recognition but here’s Shah Rukh Khan, declining a massive opportunity. SRK was offered a role in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, which he turned down and was eventually essayed by Anil Kapoor. In 2010, SRK had revealed on a show that he had worked on the initial part of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ but didn’t end up working on the film because he felt that the character of the host was a bit of a ‘cheat’ and ‘little mean’. Shah Rukh Khan had also stated that since he had hosted a similar quiz show, he felt people may feel he also did the same thing.

Did you know that Rajinikanth was not the first choice for ‘Robot’? The sci-fi drama was actually offered to Shah Rukh Khan. However, creative differences cropped up and the film eventually landed up with South superstar Rajinikanth. Interestingly, later on SRK made a film ‘Ra.One’ and it was instantly compared to ‘Robot’. Clarifying on it, SRK had told BT, “Ra.One is not like Robot. I would say more like most superhero movies with a bit of twist. Terminator2, Spiderman, Hulk etc.”

While Shah Rukh Khan is all set to collaborate with Rajkumar Hirani right now, turns out he was earlier approached by the filmmaker to essay the lead in his comedy venture ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’. However SRK had turned down the blockbuster. Besides this entertainer, SRK also didn’t collaborate with Ashutosh Gowariker for ‘Lagaan’, which eventually went to Aamir Khan. Expressing no regret, Shah Rukh Khan had told BT in an interview, “There shouldn’t be any afterthought once a decision is made. Nobody could have done a better job than Sanjay Dutt in Munnabhai... Yes, I was keen to do Lagaan, but Ashutosh and I didn’t get a producer at that time. I wasn’t into production then.”