As a seasoned Bollywood enthusiast with decades of movie-watching under my belt, I can confidently say that the story behind Shah Rukh Khan’s casting of Mahira Khan in “Raees” is a testament to the power of word-of-mouth recommendations and serendipitous encounters.
In 2017, Shah Rukh Khan starred alongside Pakistani actress Mahira Khan in the movie “Raees.” To this day, it’s her only Hindi film appearance that brought her recognition and made her a familiar face in Indian households. Contrary to what one might expect, neither Shah Rukh Khan nor director Rahul Dholakia were responsible for casting Mahira. Instead, it was Gauri Khan’s mother who proposed the idea of Mahira acting alongside SRK in this action film.
In a chat with Mashable India, Raees director Rahul Dholakia shared that he stumbled upon Mahira Khan for his film. He explained that both Gauri Khan’s mom and his own mothers had seen the Pakistani actress in a TV series and commented ‘She is good’. This prompted him to ask their casting head, Honey Trehan, if he knew Mahira. As fate would have it, she was in India for some promotional activities at that time. The following day, he auditioned her at the Excel office and soon announced, “I’ve found my Aasiya.
In the same conversation, Rahul Dholakia mentioned that they were looking for an actor with strong Hindi skills and a touch of Urdu in their speech to portray a 1980s Muslim girl. SRK was also keen on pairing with a female lead who was at least thirty years old. Contenders such as Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anushka Sharma were initially considered suitable for the role in Bollywood. However, he pointed out that these actresses were too costly and the part was insignificant compared to their stature. They then added Sonam Kapoor and Katrina Kaif to their list of potential candidates. But eventually, they found that these actresses didn’t quite fit the role either. “Shah Rukh Khan can’t romance an Alia Bhatt,” he emphasized.
Currently, on the professional side, Shah Rukh Khan is preparing to commence filming for his next project by Sujoy Ghosh titled “King,” alongside his daughter, Suhana Khan. In addition, it has been disclosed that he is in negotiations with Amar Kaushik and Dinesh Vijan for an action-packed movie. A source close to the matter shared, “Shah Rukh Khan has met with numerous directors in recent months, listening to their proposals. However, nothing truly captivated him. Now, Shah Rukh Khan is engaged in talks with the team behind Stree 2, Amar Kaushik and Dinesh Vijan.
According to additional information, “Amar and Dinoo are discussing a major action movie with SRK that could potentially lead to a partnership. This project won’t be connected to the ‘Stree’ universe but will instead launch a new one. They’ve had two or three discussions about it so far, and Shah Rukh Khan is still considering his options.
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2024-10-21 05:37