‘Baazigar producer was in deep depression’, says Dalip Tahil; reveals why other actors refused to play Shah Rukh Khan’s role

Dalip Tahil revealed how Shah Rukh Khan was 'absolutely confident' about the film Baazigar.

New Delhi | September 8, 2023 08:37 PM IST

2 min read

Baazigar is still considered a major milestone in Shah Rukh Khan's career. (Photo: Express Archives)

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Veteran actor Dalip Tahil has revealed how the producer of Baazigar slipped into ‘deep depression’ after looking at people’s reaction to the film at special screenings. Dalip mentioned that Shah Rukh Khan had confidence in the movie, but the producer was worried that it would bomb and could potentially ruin him.

On Untriggered with Aminjaz, Dalip said that when they finished making Baazigar, they held special screenings for distributors and experts to get feedback. After the audience left the theatre, Dalip and the rest of the team, including Abbas-Mustan, Shah Rukh, and the producers, stood together to observe the audience’s reactions. Dalip recalled how people couldn’t believe what had just happened in the movie – the hero had thrown the leading lady off a roof, and she died.

For the unversed, in an unexpected twist in the film, Shah Rukh Khan’s character kills one of the female leads, Shilpa Shetty, which was quite unconventional for Hindi cinema at the time. Dalip said, “The producer at one point in time was in deep depression. He said, ‘You know, this movie’s gonna bomb. Nobody’s gonna give me any money. Nobody’s gonna distribute it. I’m finished. Ruined.’” Dalip also revealed that many actors turned down the film because the leading hero had to kill the heroine.

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The actor continued, “The movie was really very different. Because in this movie, traditionally, the leading man is the leading man. You don’t go around killing the leading lady. Which is what Shah Rukh did in Baazigar. I mean, he chucked her off the roof. So, he’s like a murderer. Shah Rukh was absolutely so confident that everything was okay. He said it was done for a reason, obviously. And it became an iconic movie. It’s just amazing, it broke the set formula.”

Baazigar was released in 1993 and also starred Kajol.

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