How Shah Rukh Khan convinced Rakesh Roshan to cast him instead of Salman Khan in King Uncle, landed himself a three-film deal

Shah Rukh Khan was still a newbie in the movie business when he landed a three-film deal with actor-filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, as per his close friend and producer Vivek Vaswani. In a recent interview, Vivek recalled how Shah Rukh left Rakesh stunned with his knowledge of the business and landed a part in the promising movie King Uncle, which starred Jackie Shroff in the lead role. Not just that, he even got a three-film deal with the filmmaker’s company Filmkraft even though he had not appeared in even one movie until then.

In a chat with Film Companion, Vivek shared that he arranged for a meeting between Rakesh and Shah Rukh. Vivek was well aware that the role of Jackie’s brother in King Uncle was yet to be cast and he suggested SRK’s name for the same. When Rakesh met Shah Rukh, he asked the actor point blank, ‘Why should I cast you?’ Vivek recalled that he had coached SRK and explained him everything about the business and the actor just turned on the charm when he made his case. As per Vivek, the role that Shah Rukh wanted was going to be offered to Salman Khan who was already a star at that time.

“He explained how Rakesh had already sold King Uncle. So casting Salman and paying him more money was not going to raise the price of the film and casting Shah Rukh at lower money was not going to reduce the price of the film,” Vivek recalled. He shared that Rakesh’s jaw dropped when he heard Shah Rukh talking like an expert. “Rakesh ji’s mouth was open because this man is talking like a professional of the industry, like a veteran and he is one, as far as he is concerned, one newcomer from TV.”

Rakesh Roshan was so taken by Shah Rukh Khan’s intelligence that he signed a three-film deal with SRK, which the actor honoured. After King Uncle, he appeared in Karan Arjun and Koyla, which were also made by Rakesh.

It was probably this business aptitude that made Shah Rukh one of the first successful actor-producers in the film industry. This year, his film Jawan, which was produced by his company Red Chillies Entertainment, has become the most successful film of the year and made over Rs 1000 crore at the global box office.