Aanand L Rai revealed that he had approached Salman Khan for Zero when the film was still in its scripting stage.
Aanand L Rai helmed his ambitious film, Zero in 2018 in which Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan essayed the role of a vertically challenged man. But do you know that the filmmaker had initially narrated the idea of this film to Salman Khan before he finally made it with SRK?
Aanand made this revelation in a chat with PTI on the green carpet of the recently held IIFA Awards in Abu Dhabi, Dubai.
He shared, “I had met him (Salman), I was working on it (script). At that time I had not finished writing the story. This happened after Raanjhanaa. I had met him just like that and I told him, ‘Aisi ek duniya hai (describing the world of ‘Zero’) ek duniya describe ki thi’, and he liked it.
However after this, Aanand started working on Kangana Ranaut starrer Tanu Weds Manu Returns, while Salman got busy with another film. Eventually, the director made Zero with Shah Rukh Khan as the leading man. The comedy drama also starred Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.
The director said, “Then I started working on ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’. The story (of ‘Zero’) also changed but I couldn’t go to him again. The day I have an opportunity, I’ll go to him. I really want to work with Salman.”
Describing Salman as a ‘great actor and sensitive person’, he added, “A sensitive person can switch easily between genres. So, it’s up to us (filmmakers) now what kind of story I offer him.” While Shah Rukh Khan headlined Zero, he did manage to rope in Salman for a cameo in the song ‘Issaqbaazi’ in the film.
Zero, upon its release, received mixed reviews from the critics, and failed to make a mark at the box office. After this film, Shah Rukh took a four-year sabbatical and bounced back with two blockbusters- Siddharth Aanand’s Pathaan and Atlee’s Jawan. Coming back to Aanand L Rai, the filmmaker’s next directorial is Dhanush starrer Tere Ishk Mein.
