Deepak Tijori, in a new interview, shared that he was the first choice for Abbas-Mustan’s Baazigar before the filmmaker duo replaced him with Shah Rukh Khan.
Shah Rukh Khan’s anti-hero act in Abbas-Mustan’s romantic thriller Baazigar is considered to be a major turning point in his career. However, in a recent interview, Deepak Tijori made a surprising revelation about this film. The actor said that it was him and not Shah Rukh Khan who was the first choice for Baazigar.
Tijori told Bollywood Thikana, “I saw a film, A Kiss Before Dying, and narrated a story to Abbas-Mustan. Back then, this is how it used to function, there was no concept of copyright, studios system had not come into play. So, most films were inspired by Hollywood films.”
The ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’ actor revealed that after pitching the idea to the filmmaker duo, he told that he would take up the villain’s role and they can cast other heroes and other roles.
“They agreed. Then Khiladi released, followed by Jo Jeeta Woh Sikandar. Now people from the distribution circle were looking at me like I am progressing and soon enough I will become a hero,” Deepak recalled.
The actor said he had met producer Pahlaj Nihalani, who was ready to produce the film. According to Deepak, everything was finalised but then there was a twist in the story when he received a call from Nihlani one day. The producer told Deepak that Abbas-Mustan were in talks with Venus for the same film. Hearing this, Deepak was shocked.
“Back then, Shah Rukh and I were friends. We would party every night. I asked him if he was approached for the film, he said he was. There was even a VCD of that film at his house. The brothers then said they have already committed themselves to Venus with Shah Rukh as the lead. If we back out now, it will be a question 0n our career. They said they will collaborate with me on some other film,” Deepak recalled in his interview.
He further added, “I thought now what’s the point, if their career is at stakes, then let it be. Back then I didn’t know that ‘We will work together’ never really happens. It is just said for the sake of it.”
Baazigar turned out to be a ‘blockbuster’ upon its release. The film also starred Kajol and marked the Bollywood debut of Shilpa Shetty.
