Shah Rukh Khan was the director Danny Boyle's original choice for Slumdog Millionaire, but he rejected the film.
In 2009, director Danny Boyle presented his film that went on to impress the audience across the globe. Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto-starrer Slumdog Millionaire was loosely adapted from Vikas Swarup's novel Q & A (2005). The movie narrates the story of Jamal (Dev Patel), a slum dweller, who gets a life-changing opportunity to participate in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (Kaun Banega Crorepati in Hindi) and becomes a millionaire. Accused of cheating, Jamal narrates his life to the police, explaining how he can answer each question correctly.
Shot in India, the movie also starred Irrfan, Saurabh Shukla, Mahesh Manjrekar, Raj Zutshi, and Anil Kapoor. In the British drama, Anil played the host of the reality game show and won praise for his performance. However, Anil Kapoor wasn't the original choice for this role. Reportedly, Danny wanted to cast a Bollywood superstar, who has hosted the Indian version of the game show.
Danny wanted to cast this superstar for Slumdog Millionaire
As per the media reports of 2007, Danny wanted to cast Shah Rukh Khan in the role of game show host. SRK, who had once replaced Amitabh Bachchan as host in Kaun Banega Crorepati was in talks to play this crucial role in Slumdog Millionaire. However, Shah Rukh rejected the film, and it went to Anil Kapoor
Why did Shah Rukh reject Slumdog Millionaire?
In 2010, while promoting his film My Name Is Khan, Shah Rukh Khan appeared on Jonathan Ross’ chat show. When the host asked him the reason for rejecting Slumdog Millionaire, SRK said, "I was very keen that the film be made, because I think that it’s a very interesting topic. I didn’t do it because the host is a little bit of a cheat, and he was a little mean, and I’d already done the show so I felt if I do it people will feel I do the same thing." He concluded, "It was a great film."
Released in January 2009, Slumdog Millionaire garnered critical acclaim and went on to win several accolades, which included eight Oscar awards, seven BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globes. In India, the movie met with mixed responses, to the depiction of poverty in India.
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