TV
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’, an official adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, stands as one of the landmarks in Indian cinema and also in superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s filmography. The film has become cult classic over the years with praises for SRK’s performance.
However, did you know that Shah Rukh was reluctant to do the film and had almost rejected it? Yes, you read that right! King Khan wasn’t convinced enough to take up the role because he thought he was ‘too cool’ to play Devdas.
“Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who I think is one of the most talented filmmakers of our times, came down and said I want you to do Devdas,” SRK recalled at the prestigious Locarno International Film Festival.
“I said no, he’s a loser, an alcoholic. I’m too cool to be Devdas! He is an alcoholic, doesn’t commit to a girl, goes away. I don’t like to play characters which demean women. I didn’t want him to be liked for the reason that he, you know sort of, this is a woman and doesn’t commit to her. I wanted him to come across as a person who’s a bit of a spineless person. It’s not somebody you should look up to,” SRK recalled.
“So, it kind of petered out, and then before leaving, he just said one thing, which still sticks with me. He said, ‘I will not make this film if not with you, because your eyes are like Devdas.’ So I said, okay. He said, ‘I would not cast anyone and for a year he didn’t. Then we met again. And I said, ‘Okay, if you can’t find eyes like mine, I’ll do the film,” SRK shared.
