Shah Rukh Khan's performance in Baazigar is one of his best till date, but not many people know the role was initially offered to Salman Khan.
The role of the anti-hero played by Shah Rukh was first offered to Anil Kapoor but he turned it down as he wasn't comfortable doing a negative role early into his career.
Abbas-Mustan then approached Salman with the offer. The Sultan actor passed on the script to his script-writer father Salim Khan, who suggested a few changes. Abbas-Mustan eventually incorporated the changes and roped in Shah Rukh to play the lead.
Salman, while revealing the incident, said although the
makers of Baazigar incorporated his father's suggestions- that apparently worked in favour of the film- he has no regrets over missing the iconic role.
"I had refused Baazigar. When Abbas-Mustan came to me with the script, I asked my dad for his inputs. He felt that since it's a story of a negative character they should add an angle of the mother to it. They didn't agree. When I turned down the film, they went to Shah Rukh and then they added the mother angle. But I don't regret it at all," Salman was reportedly quoted as saying during an interview in 2007.
Salman and Shah Rukh had worked together in a number of films.