R Madhavan auditioned for Shah Rukh Khan’s role in Swades, reveals co-writer Amin Hajee: “He absolutely killed it. He is a great actor”
Shah Rukh Khan’s portrayal of Mohan Bhargava in Ashutosh Gowariker’s Swades remains one of the most remembered performances of his career. However, the actor was not the only name considered for the lead role. According to actor and writer Amin Hajee, who was part of the writing team of the 2004 film, R Madhavan had also auditioned for the role, while Hrithik Roshan was among the actors who were narrated the script.
Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, Hajee recalled Madhavan’s audition and praised the actor’s performance. Amin said, "We narrated the script to Hrithik Roshan as well. Madhavan also auditioned, and what an audition it was. He absolutely killed it. He is a great actor."
Hajee further revealed that Aamir Khan was initially planned to headline Swades. According to him, the film was intended as the next collaboration with Aamir after Lagaan. “At that time, Aamir was supposed to play the role that Shah Rukh Khan eventually played. It was always Aamir from the start. After Lagaan, this was the next film we planned with Aamir,” he said.
However, Aamir reportedly had reservations about certain elements of the screenplay. “Aamir did not like some of the things we had done. He did not like that version of the script, although he liked the plot,” Amin recalled.
He added, “Aamir loved the story. He simply wanted to work further on certain aspects. But the more important issue was that he didn't have the time. Aamir does one film at a time.”
The project eventually found its lead in Shah Rukh Khan. Hajee remembered that the actor watched Lagaan at a special screening organised at Adlabs in Film City. Sitting next to Shah Rukh during the screening, Hajee heard the actor express his desire to work with Gowariker.
“Shah Rukh wanted to watch Lagaan, and a special screening was organised for him. I happened to be sitting next to him. After watching the film, he said, ‘I should be in Ashu's next film. My father was a freedom fighter. I should do Desh. I should be Mohan Bhargava.’”
He continued, “He called Ashu and said, ‘Ashu, I have to be in your next film. You're a great director, and I want to be a part of your next film.’”
After further discussions and a screen test, Shah Rukh was eventually cast as Mohan Bhargava. Reflecting on how the casting came together, Amin said, “Then we tested, and I think it's all destiny. So Shah Rukh did Swades, I became a writer, and Charlotte co-wrote it with us.”
Released in 2004, Swades also featured Gayatri Joshi, Kishori Ballal, Daya Shankar Pandey, Rajesh Vivek and Lekh Tandon in key roles.
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