Shahrukh Khan is called the 'King Khan of Bollywood' because time and again he has proved that he deserves the title of a 'King' not just because of his work but also because of his heart and gestures. Not many people know about this, but the man has a golden heart, as he once worked for free in Kamal Haasan's movie 'Hey Ram', which was released in 2000, and Shahrukh was seen playing an extended cameo in the movie.
Hey Ram completed 20 years today and so on this occasion, a video of Kamal Haasan is going viral on social media where he can be seen thanking Shahrukh for his sweet gesture of not charging any remuneration for this role.
Film based on Mahatma Gandhi's assassination
The film was a period drama based on Mahatma Gandhi's assassination by Nathuram Godse, set during the partition of India. Apart from acting in the film, Kamal Haasan also wrote and directed Hey Ram.
While Haasan played the role of Saket Ram, Shahrukh played the role of Saket Ram's friend Amjad Ali Khan.
In one of the older interviews by Kamal Hasan who also was one of the producers of the movie, revealed that Shah Rukh Khan did not ask for a single penny for the role because of lack of budget for the movie. A clip of the same, in now going viral on social media, after Hey Ram completed 20 years.
He said, "Nobody will believe that [Shah Rukh didn't charge anything for the role]. They will think that it is a story. It is not going to happen in future. They say that Shah Rukh is a businessman, he is commercial-minded; so am I. But the fact that he knew the budget of Hey Ram... He just wanted to be a part of it. Hamesha interviews main bolte hain, 'I just want to be a part of a film, that's enough.' Or 'I just want to touch Kamal Haasan.' All that he said. But people will say, 'Yeh toh dialogue-baazi hai. They say these nice things to please each other.' But he [Shah Rukh] actually did it when the budget ran over; he didn't even ask for remuneration. He did it [the movie] for a wristwatch."
The movie was released in Tamil as well as in Hindi and later Shahrukh even bought the right of the film.
In one of his older interviews with Mumbai Mirror, Kamal Haasan was delighted that it was Shahrukh who acquired the Hindi rights of his work.
#20YearsOfHeyRam one of the best made films ever in Indian Cinema. @ikamalhaasan the GENIUS?. If there is any Indian movie Worthy of Oscars then I would say #HeyRam at 1st place. 2 Decades still the movie looks fresh.@iamsrk's one of the Finest performance?#20YearsOfEPICHeyram pic.twitter.com/7CTnRiyJTk
— Karthick Shivaraman™ (@Iskarthi) February 18, 2020
#20YearsOfHeyRam #20YearsOfEPICHeyram This day will not end without this Template. Peak of Tolerance = MK Gandhi, Peak of Art Form = #HeyRam https://t.co/G8RcASeEVM pic.twitter.com/2PIwvBkL8T
— Karthi Haasan (@Karthik199815) February 18, 2020
He said, "I am glad that he got the Hindi rights of Hey Ram from Bharat bhai (co-producer Bharat Shah). He should have some memory of the film as he gave his friendship and service for it."
The original movie proved to be a gem as it acquired a lot of appreciation and received three National Awards that year. Atul Kulkarni won the Best Supporting Actor for the role of Shriram Abhayankar, while Sarika won the Best Costume Design Award and Manthra bagged the award in Best Special Effects category.