Turning a Baazigar into a Baadshah

Abbas-Mustan on Shah Rukh Khan:

- Rajiv Vijayakar

Thriller masters Abbas-Mustan, easily the most successful director-duo in Hindi cinema, have had a very significant two-film association with Shah Rukh Khan, who turns 60 on November 2.

In a freewheeling chat on the King Khan, the two are, as always, unanimous about their opinions, even completing each other's sentences on speakerphone, which we will condense as a 'single' quote by Abbas-Mustan!

To go back, how did you first met Shah Rukh Khan?

The scripting of our film was going on at a flat rented by our producers, Venus Records and Tapes, and Shah Rukh had come there to meet a filmmaker. We met him then, and when he was introduced to us, he raved about how much he had loved our work in Khiladi.

How did you cast him in Baazigar?

We were contemplating on Anil Kapoor for that role. But he openly expressed hesitation about doing such a character when he was successful in positive roles. We then approached Salman Khan, but he too had reservations as his image was completely different. Then the late actor Amrit Patel, who had worked with Shah Rukh in Fauji and Circus, told us to check him out. The boy is good, he said, so we had a formal meeting through Venus. We had watched Deewana then and had also liked him and felt that he would suit the role.

What was his response?