Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar recently shared an anecdote about the iconic Pepsi ad, which was inspired by an American commercial. Shah Rukh Khan was also in the race for the 1993 ad and quoted a remuneration of Rs 6 lakh. However, Aamir Khan was ultimately chosen for his "boy next door" image over Shah Rukh and was paid Rs 16 lakh.
What's Happening
The iconic ad featured Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Mahima Chaudhary.
Explaining why Aamir was selected over Shah Rukh, Prahlad Kakkar told ANI, "Aamir was the perfect boy next door, and the ad was a copy of an American film. So we had to be very sensitive about our casting. I needed a boy who looked vulnerable, not cocky. At that time, Shah Rukh was in the running for Aamir's role. Pepsi had approached him; by then, he had just made it and was looking for a house. He was short of Rs 6 lakh. When asked how much he would charge, he said Rs 6 lakh. When we recommended Aamir, he was more shy than Shah Rukh. Aamir asked for Rs 16 lakh, and Pepsi said, 'Let's take SRK' because he was asking for less. I took a stand, and we got Aamir."
Talking about the casting process, Prahlad Kakkar revealed, "Even though the cast was brilliant, the battle was in the casting; it took us three months to finalise it. Aishwarya was already a known face, but we wanted a girl who could stop the country because she appeared for just four seconds. That's exactly what happened. The day the film was released, I received 5,000 calls the next morning asking, 'Who is Sanju? Where did she come from?' Aishwarya played a character named Sanju in the ad."
Aamir-Shah Rukh Bonding
Aamir, Shah Rukh, and Salman Khan recently appeared together at a function in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They shared the stage with American content creator MrBeast.
In terms of work, Aamir Khan was last seen in Sitaare Zameen Par, a spiritual sequel to the 2007 film Taare Zameen Par. Salman Khan treated the audience to his Eid release Sikandar, this year. Shah Rukh Khan was last seen in Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki. He will be next seen in King.
