Shah Rukh Khan’s extraordinary rise from a struggling newcomer to one of the world’s biggest movie icons reads like the script of a classic Bollywood tale. During a nostalgic conversation with Radio Nasha, producer Viveck Vaswani—one of Khan’s earliest supporters—recalled the remarkable chain of events that led to the superstar’s first break in the Hindi film industry.
At that time, Shah Rukh was staying at Viveck’s home in Mumbai, still chasing his dream of becoming an actor, when fate intervened through an unexpected phone call from Hema Malini. Neither of them could have anticipated how that moment would change Shah Rukh’s life forever.
Vaswani recounted how both he and Shah Rukh nervously made their way to the legendary actress’s residence, uncertain about what awaited them. On arrival, they noticed a man sitting quietly behind a newspaper. It was only when he lowered it that they realized they were in the presence of superstar Dharmendra himself.
The tension in the room was palpable as the young actor awaited his chance. When Hema Malini entered, her initial reaction took them by surprise. Despite finding Shah Rukh’s appearance unconventional for a leading man, she still expressed interest in casting him. Curious, Viveck asked why she wanted him if she felt that way. She candidly admitted that both Aamir Khan and Salman Khan had declined the role. Determined to secure the opportunity for his friend, Viveck cleverly fabricated a story, claiming that renowned filmmakers like Rakesh Roshan and Ramesh Sippy had already signed Shah Rukh for upcoming projects—an untruth he justified as necessary to help a deserving talent find his footing.
"Hema Ji came and told Shah Rukh, ‘But you’re very ugly.’ I asked her, ‘Why do you want him?’ She said, ‘Aamir Khan and Salman Khan have said no.’ I told her that Rakesh Roshan and Ramesh Sippy had signed him, and that was a lie because when I need to give people careers, I can lie like a king," he said.
That fateful meeting marked the beginning of Shah Rukh’s cinematic journey, as Hema Malini’s directorial venture Dil Aashna Hai became the first movie he officially signed. The film featured a stellar ensemble, including Divya Bharti, Jeetendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Dimple Kapadia, and Amrita Singh. However, due to production delays, Deewana—another project he had taken up later—ended up releasing first, officially marking his grand debut on the big screen and launching the journey of the man who would soon be hailed as King Khan.
At that time, Shah Rukh was staying at Viveck’s home in Mumbai, still chasing his dream of becoming an actor, when fate intervened through an unexpected phone call from Hema Malini. Neither of them could have anticipated how that moment would change Shah Rukh’s life forever.
Vaswani recounted how both he and Shah Rukh nervously made their way to the legendary actress’s residence, uncertain about what awaited them. On arrival, they noticed a man sitting quietly behind a newspaper. It was only when he lowered it that they realized they were in the presence of superstar Dharmendra himself.
The tension in the room was palpable as the young actor awaited his chance. When Hema Malini entered, her initial reaction took them by surprise. Despite finding Shah Rukh’s appearance unconventional for a leading man, she still expressed interest in casting him. Curious, Viveck asked why she wanted him if she felt that way. She candidly admitted that both Aamir Khan and Salman Khan had declined the role. Determined to secure the opportunity for his friend, Viveck cleverly fabricated a story, claiming that renowned filmmakers like Rakesh Roshan and Ramesh Sippy had already signed Shah Rukh for upcoming projects—an untruth he justified as necessary to help a deserving talent find his footing.
"Hema Ji came and told Shah Rukh, ‘But you’re very ugly.’ I asked her, ‘Why do you want him?’ She said, ‘Aamir Khan and Salman Khan have said no.’ I told her that Rakesh Roshan and Ramesh Sippy had signed him, and that was a lie because when I need to give people careers, I can lie like a king," he said.
That fateful meeting marked the beginning of Shah Rukh’s cinematic journey, as Hema Malini’s directorial venture Dil Aashna Hai became the first movie he officially signed. The film featured a stellar ensemble, including Divya Bharti, Jeetendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Dimple Kapadia, and Amrita Singh. However, due to production delays, Deewana—another project he had taken up later—ended up releasing first, officially marking his grand debut on the big screen and launching the journey of the man who would soon be hailed as King Khan.
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