'The character was cheating and..': Shah Rukh Khan on why he turned down Anil Kapoor's role in Slumdog Millionaire

Shah Rukh Khan has time and again been bombarded with questions as to why he has not explored any projects in Hollywood given his stature as a global star. Not only this but not many know that the superstar was offered Anil Kapoor’s role in the Oscar-award winning film Slumdog Millionaire. In a latest interview, Shah Rukh revealed why he turned down the movie.

In an interaction with journalist Richard Quest at an event in Dubai, Shah Rukh revealed the reason behind turning down Slumdog Millionaire. He said, “Yes, Slumdog was there, and I spent a lot of time with Mr Boyle. He was very sweet. But I was doing Who Wants to be a Millionaire on television, but I just felt that in the story being told, the guy who was hosting was very mean. The guys who were producing the show wanted me to do the film. But the character was cheating and being dishonest as the host, I found that very strange, and I explained to Mr Boyle that I wouldn’t like to do it, please, and there are way better actors than me. Mr Anil Kapoor did it, and he was fantastic as the host.”

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Apart from this, in another interview with Jonathan Ross, the Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge actor said that he thought people might think that he is a cheat in his real life too if he had essayed Anil Kapoor’s part in Slumdog Millionaire. He said, “I was very keen for that film to be made. I didn’t do it because the host was a bit of a cheat, and I thought people might think I would do the same thing.”

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The actor in an earlier statement had also defended the criticism Slumdog Millionaire got for allegedly showing India in a poor light. Shah Rukh said, “I think it’s really nice that it will open doors for people to understand that there is a lot of visual appeal to India. I hear a lot of people saying that India has been shown in bad light. But then my logic to everyone is that why is it that somebody comes from outside and makes a film like Gandhi and Slumdog. It becomes internally acceptable. All we can say about it is that it is showing India in a poor light.” Meanwhile, on the work front, Shah Rukh had a successful year workwise in 2023 wherein his three films Pathaan, Jawan, and Dunki emerged successful at the box office.