23 Years of Mission Kashmir: Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan were the original choices; due to budget constraints, SRK was offered just Rs. 30 lakhs

The action thriller Mission Kashmir completes 23 years today. It was released in cinemas on October 27, 2000, and clashed with Shah Rukh Khan-Amitabh Bachchan starrer Mohabbatein. Mission Kashmir, in fact, opened better than Mohabbatein due to Hrithik Roshan’s association with the former. The same year, he was seen in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai which made him an overnight celebrity. Hrithik was joined by Sanjay Dutt and Preity Zinta and interestingly, they were not the original choices for Mission Kashmir. This was revealed by writer Suketu Mehta in the book ‘Maximum City’.

Suketu Mehta spent extensive time with director Vidhu Vinod Chopra when Mission Kashmir was being made. The acclaimed filmmaker had said in the writer’s presence that if Mission Kashmir does well, he'll use the profits to make a Hollywood film. He also said, “If this film fails, my house will be put up for sale.” Before Mission Kashmir, Vidhu’s Kareeb (1998), starring Bobby Deol, had tanked.

Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan were the original choices for the roles played by Hrithik Roshan and Sanjay Dutt respectively. This was the time when Amitabh was having a tough time and trying to switch to character roles. Big B, after hearing the script, had suggested an ending that would expose the wrongdoings of the system to the common man. Suketu revealed that on hearing Big B’s suggestion, Vidhu Vinod Chopra told him, “Sir, the system may be screwing the common man. But if I kill both my stars at the end of the picture, the system will surely screw me.”

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan too seemed interested in doing the film. Suketu even wrote that during the narration, the superstar himself prepared the tea. As for the female lead, the director-producer wanted to cast Tabu. But the distributors delinked, citing that “she’s not glamorous enough.” This is how Preity Zinta stepped in.

Sadly, things went downhill as Amitabh Bachchan sent a fax one day that since Vidhu Vinod Chopra didn't discuss 'many aspects', he'll have to back out. Suketu stated in the book that Vidhu wondered if it was 'money aspects' or 'many aspects'. VVC went to meet Amitabh Bachchan with a bouquet of white roses to persuade him to come on board. Big B, however, reasoned that he can’t sign Mission Kashmir as he’s committed to doing a film with Shah Rukh Khan. That film was none other than Mohabbatein.

Later, Vidhu Vinod Chopra told Suketu Mehta that Shah Rukh Khan, too, wouldn’t do the film as the filmmaker was offering the actor just Rs. 30 lakhs. VVC remarked that Shah Rukh Khan can make ten times more money by working on an ad for just 3 days.

Once Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan were out of the picture, he kept Mission Kashmir on the backburner. He began working on the script titled Mitti, which was about an Indian and Pakistani soldier meeting in a hospital in the UK. The plan was junked as the Kargil War broke out in 1999. Mission Kashmir was later revived with Hrithik Roshan and Sanjay Dutt in the lead cast.

Also Read: 20 years of Mohabbatein and Mission Kashmir: Analysing the now forgotten Shah Rukh Khan-Hrithik Roshan RIVALRY

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