On This Day In 1994, SRK Stood At A Booking Counter & Sold Tickets Of 'Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa'
He is hailed as the Badshah of Bollywood, the King Khan, the ruler of hearts, the man who has fan following in billions across the globe. But did you know before he became one of the biggest stars and highest paid actor of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan had his own share of struggles?
Shah Rukh Khan once sold the tickets of his own movie Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. He stood at the booking counter at a theatre in Mumbai on the first day of its release. He was just paid Rs. 25,000 for the film then, in 1994.
The movie worked only because of Shah Rukh Khan, otherwise it wouldn't even have released.
Impressed with Shah Rukh Khan's performance in Fauji, Kundan Shah was sure SRK could pull of this role. The filmmaker had worked with him in two episodes of Umeed, which he produced.
When Shah Rukh Khan got the offer, he was thrilled. He was a fan of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, after all. By the time the shoot for the movie began, SRK had already signed Karan Arjun and Dil Aashna Hai among other movies.
After the shoot of the movie was completed, no distributor was ready to buy the rights of the movie. That's when Khan spoke to producer Vijay Gilani and he agreed to buy the film. Vijay Gilani, Venus Worldwide Entertainment and Khan became joint producers. That's how the movie was released in Mumbai.
It has been 26 years since the movie released, and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa remains to be a classic. Even after more than two decades, people still remember Suchitra Krishnamoorthi as Anna, the girl who rejected Sunil aka SRK because she was in love with Chris aka Deepak Tijori.
Songs of the movie including Aana Mere Pyaar Ko Na Tum and Woh Toh Hai Albela are still popular among fans.
Recalling the time, Suchitra got a little nostalgic as she wrote, "I've done v few movies in my long life. Blessed to have been a part of this one- I was in d right place right time & so many yrs later ppl still know me as #Aana #26YearsOfKabhiHaanKabhiNaa @iamsrk @TheFarahKhan @AshGowariker #deepaktijori #jatinlalit Miss u #KundanShah (sic)."
As the film has clocked 26 years, the fans of Shah Rukh Khan and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi have dug out an old picture of the duo from 2016.
In the picture, Suchitra and Shekhar Kapur's daughter Kaveri can be seen right in the centre.
Fun Fact: The movie starred Jodha Akbar fame director Ashutosh Gowariker as Imran, a band member.