Aditya Chopra had first offered Chak De! India to Salman Khan before Shah Rukh Khan headlined the sports drama.
Directed by Shimit Amin and produced by Aditya Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films, Chak De! India is one of the most influential films of the 21st century. The sports drama was a critical and commercial success. Shah Rukh Khan's portrayal of the coach Kabir Khan is counted among his best performances. But before Shah Rukh, Salman Khan was approached for the film. Read on to know why he rejected the National Award-winning blockbuster.
1. Shah Rukh Khan as coach Kabir Khan in Chak De! India
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Shah Rukh Khan played Kabir Khan, the head coach of the Indian women's national field hockey team in Chak De! India. Khan's portrayal as Kabir Khan was sincere, emotional, earnest and heartful, and won over the hearts of the audiences. It is still counted among Shah Rukh's best performances in his entire acting career.
2. The Chak De! Girls
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Vidya Malvade, Shilpa Shukla, Sagarika Ghatge, Chitrashi Rawat, Tanya Abrol, Anaitha Nair, Shubhi Mehta, Nichola Sequeira, Sandia Furtado, Arya Menon, Kimi Laldawla, Masochon Zimik, Seema Azmi, Kimberly Miranda, Nisha Nair, and Raynia Mascerhanas made up the Indian women's national field hockey team. Referred to as the Chak De! Girls, they jointly won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Screen Awards in 2008.
3. Why Salman Khan rejected Chak De! India
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Before Shah Rukh Khan, Aditya Chopra had offered Chak De! India to Salman Khan. While talking to the media during the Sultan promotions, Salman revealed the reason why he rejected the film. He said, "When I was offered Chak De, my image was totally different as I was doing Partner and all those kind of films. My only thing in Chak De was that my fans would expect me to wear a wig and win the match for India which would not go for the film. That was not my genre at that point of time."
4. Chak De! India at the box office
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Made in just Rs 20 crore, Chak De! India earned earned Rs 67.72 crore net in India and grossed Rs 109.20 crore worldwide at the box office, as per the entertainment tracking portal Sacnilk. The sports drama was declared a blockbuster and is often called the best sports film made in India, along with Lagaan.
5. Chak De! India won National Award
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Producer Aditya Chopra and director Shimit Amin received the National Award when Chak De! India was named the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 55th National Film Awards. At the 53rd Filmfare Awards, the sports drama won Best Film (Critics), Best Action, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Shah Rukh Khan received the Best Actor award.
6. Chak De! became the sports anthem of India
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Composed by Salim-Sulaiman, sung by Sukhwinder Singh, and written by Jaideep Sahni, the title song Chak De! India became the sports anthem of India. The track is still played whenever Indian sportspersons bring laurels to the nation by winning medals and championships across different sports.
