In the 1990s, Shahrukh Khan steadily made his way to superstardom in Bollywood. One of his first turning points was Baazigar, produced by Ratan Jain, which firmly established him as a leading man. The film also marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between the actor and the producer, who went on to work together on Yes Boss, Badshah, Josh and later on Chief Hoon Na, where Jain served as co-producer. But even before “Yes, Boss” went on floors, a heated moment between them almost ended their professional relationship forever.
A comment that angered Shahrukh
In a recent interview with TV9’s Bharatvarsh, Ratan Jain recalled a tense incident that took place during the initial discussions for ‘Yes Boss’. He shared that director Aziz Mirza and he really wanted to cast Shahrukh in the lead role, but the conversation took an unexpected turn. “Aziz said that if Shahrukh does not want to do the film, we will do it with someone else. And while talking to Shahrukh, I ended up saying, “If you don’t want to do it, I’ll do it with Saif.” It was a big mistake. I don’t know how those words slipped out of my mouth,” Jain admitted.It seems that the thoughtless remark did not go down well with Shahrukh. According to Jain, the superstar was furious and could not get over his anger for hours. The situation escalated later that night when Shahrukh called Jain and his associate Hari Singh to express his frustration.
A midnight call and a strained relationship
“First Shahrukh called Hari Singh, who was handling my work, and he really lashed out at him. I think he even used foul language,” said Jain. “Then he called me and asked, ‘Are you replacing me with Saif?’ He got angry and said, “Saif, who?” I tried to explain that it came out by accident, but he told me, “It doesn’t work like that.” You said what was in your heart.” I told him, “I can’t take back what I said, but what’s done is done.”Then he said, “Let us do one thing.” I will finish the Baadsha for you and after that we will not work together.’The producer recalled that Shahrukh remained upset for days. Eventually, when they met in person, Jain apologized, admitting that his words had been careless. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said that,” he admitted. Fortunately, the two were able to mend their relationship and continue their successful partnership in the years to come.Jain also revealed another behind-the-scenes story involving Shahrukh during the making of Josh. He explained that he had always envisioned Shahrukh as Max, but director Mansoor Khan wanted to take Aamir Khan instead. “We had planned that Aamir would play the role of Chandrachur Singh and Shahrukh would play Max,” said Jain. “Mansoor told me that Amir wanted to play Max, and I said, ‘No way. Only Shahrukh will do it, otherwise I won’t do the film.”Shah Rukh Khan, who has since become one of India’s most enduring stars, will next be seen in Siddharth Anand’s King, which is slated for a 2026 release.
