When Vishal Bhardwaj Revealed Why He Never Worked With Shah Rukh Khan
Updated on: 04 August, 2025 01:33 PM IST |Shweta Shah
Vishal Bhardwaj reflects on not collaborating with Shah Rukh Khan
When you think of directors who bring meaning, intense stories, and substance to Bollywood, Vishal Bhardwaj tops the list. The filmmaker turned 60 today. His literary-to-motion-pictures transition in films like Haider, Omkara, and Kaminey redefined Hindi cinema.
On his birthday, here`s a throwback to when Vishal regretted not collaborating with Shah Rukh Khan, how Saif Ali Khan was not his first choice for Omkara, and `almost` working with Aamir Khan.
Why did Vishal Bhardwaj never collaborate with SRK?
After working with some amazing actors like Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma, Irrfan Khan, and Kangana Ranaut, among others, fans wondered why the two maestros of cinema never collaborated.
In a conversation with Mid-day, the director revealed, “We had differences over the setting of it. I wanted to set it not in a college, but in a bank. That’s where we disagreed.”
Also Read: Vishal Bhardwaj Regrets Making Kangana Starrer Rangoon, Here`s What He said
When asked if Shah Rukh Khan wanted the film to be set in a college, Vishal said he preferred “somewhere else, if not a college.” The Maqbool director said the two regret not working together even today.
"Even now, when I spoke to him after Jawan… Every year, whenever we meet, either on his birthday or at some public function, we always say that we have to do a film together,” he added.
How did Saif Ali Khan become Omkara`s Langda Tyagi?
Did you know Saif wasn`t the first choice to play the villain in Omkara? Aamir Khan had expressed his interest in playing the role in Vishal Bhardwaj`s film; however, he had issues with dates and couldn`t find time to commit.
"At that time I saw Saif in Dil Chahta Hai. Saif usse pehle jo tha na, uski voice thodi feminine thi, uski performance ajeeb si hua karti thi. In Dil Chahta Hai he worked on himself a lot. He was a different Saif," Bhardwaj recalled.
He shared, "Mujhe laga iss bande ke andar zabardast fire hai, isne apne aap ko poora transform kar diya. I told him if you are ready to work hard, no one will expect this from you. He was ready for that, except for cutting his hair. He did not want to cut his hair, and it took a lot of convincing. Otherwise, everything else he did was more than we asked for."
On the work front, Vishal Bhardwaj is all set to reunite with Shahid Kapoor in Arjun Ustara. The movie also stars Triptii Dimri in the lead.
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