Not Shah Rukh Khan, but this Khan was first choice for Raees; he rejected it because…

Shah Rukh Khan’s action film Raees, which marked the debut of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, proved to be a huge success at the box office. However, not many know that before Shah Rukh, the film was offered to another Khan who rejected the offer. 

The Khan we are talking about had not only made his mark in Bollywood but also in Hollywood. He was Irrfan Khan. Irrfan Khan. The film’s director revealed the reason behind Irrfan rejecting the role. 
 
In a recent interview with Mashable, Rahul Dholakia revealed that Irrfan Khan rejected the role because he didn’t want to die in the end and said, “I’m not sure if it was prophetical on his part, but he just didn’t want to die in the film. But that was a deal-breaker of sorts. Raees had to die in the end. Then, when I approached Nawazuddin Siddiqui, he wanted to play the cop instead. Interestingly, Irrfan also wanted to play the role of ACP Jaideep Majmudar. How can I have two cops?” 

He further recalled how when he suggested Shah Rukh Khan’s name for the lead role, Ritesh Sidhwani laughed at him and said, “Ritesh asked me to give him a list of five actors for the role of Raees. I gave him one… Shah Rukh Khan, and he burst out laughing. I told him that I was very serious about bringing him on board. Once, he was onboard, it was so wonderful. It was a life-changing experience working with him.” 

Helmed by Rahul Dholakia and produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and Excel Entertainment. Raees stars Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mahira Khan (in her only Hindi film acting credit). Raees is said to be based on the criminal Abdul Latif's life, however, the filmmakers have denied this claim. Made in Rs 70 crore, the film collected Rs 281 crore worldwide. It became the sixth highest-grossing film of 2017. was also the most pirated Hindi film of 2017. 

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan is all set to entertain the audience once again with his upcoming movie King. Helmed by Sujoy Ghosh, the film also stars Suhana Khan, Abhay Verma, and Abhishek Bachchan in key roles and is currently under production.

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