Aamir Khan charged thrice the fees of Shah Rukh for an ad, but this director chose him: ‘SRK didn’t have a squeaky clean image; Aamir was a clean boy’

Prolific ad-film director Prahlad Kakkar shared details about working with Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan during the early days of their career.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: September 17, 2025 11:49 AM IST

3 min read

Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. (Photo: Vasant Prabhu)

Post 1990s, most of the ‘modern’ era of Bollywood was dominated by the three Khans. Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan collectively delivered more hits and iconic films than the rest of the industry combined and became synonymous with Bollywood success. Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar recently talked about working with the three actors during their early days and how a distinct quality separated Aamir from the other two.

Kakkar told Vickey Lalwani that he chose Aamir over Shah Rukh for an ad even though the former actor was asking for almost thrice the money. Kakkar answered in the affirmative and said, “Yes, that’s correct. I did fight with a client to get Aamir instead of Shah Rukh. Aamir was actually charging Rs 17 lakh compared to Shah Rukh’s fees of Rs 6 lakh, and that too because Shah Rukh was short of that exact amount for buying his house. I told them that Shah Rukh wasn’t right for the ad, because I don’t just want an actor; I want the image that comes with him. They went around and around with him for 6 months, because Aamir didn’t budge, but they finally got him. The image Aamir had was of an innocent and clean boy; that’s what I wanted for the film. Shah Rukh didn’t exactly have the squeaky-clean image I was looking for.”

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The Khans of Bollywood. (Photo: Express Archive)

He doubled down on the need for the right image and said, “They were both good-looking and talented boys, but Aamir had done films like Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, while Shah Rukh had worked in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The latter wasn’t right for the ad because of the image he had at that point, and that’s why I sided with Aamir. I knew that both would make it, and I used Shah Rukh for a lot of other ads.”

Kakkar specifically pointed out the qualities of two actors and how Salman wasn’t in the running during his early days, and that’s why he wasn’t his first choice for ad films. Shah Rukh is a thorough professional, and I have always enjoyed working with him. I had the same positive experience with Aamir as well, but he is a bit anal. Salman I knew before he shot to stardom, and he used to hang around my sets because he was friends with my wife. He wasn’t superstar material back then because he hadn’t worked a lot. He was a bit short in height, and he wasn’t a great actor at that point.”

Aamir made his debut with Qayamat se Qayamat Tak (1988), after appearing in Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973) as a child actor. Shah Rukh entered the industry with Deewana (1992), and Salman’s debut came with the film Biwi Ho To Aisi (1988), but his first lead role was in Maine Pyar Kiya (1989).

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