In an interactive session with the journalist Richard Quest at World Governments Summit 2024 in Dubai on Wednesday, February 14, Shah Rukh Khan revealed that he rejected Danny Boyle's British drama Slumdog Millionaire, that went on to win 8 Oscars at the 81st Academy Awards in 2009.
The Jawan actor said that he has never been offered a compelling role in Hollywood or England as he stated, "I’ve said this honestly, but nobody believes me. Nobody has offered me any crossover work of substance. I may have had conversations with people. I know lots of lovely people from the West, from the English film industry, from the American film industry, but nobody has offered me any work. I hear actors talk about wanting to cross over, but I still have to learn to deliver to the audience that likes me, instead of spreading myself too thin. So, really, I’ve never been offered a film in Hollywood or England."
Shah Rukh then shared that Danny Boyle offered him Slumdog Millionaire but he rejected the role. "Yes, Slumdog was there, and I spent a lot of time with Mr Boyle. He was very sweet. But I was doing Who Wants to be a Millionaire on television, but I just felt that in the story being told, the guy who was hosting was very mean."
"I felt I was cheating and being dishonest. I explained to Mr Boyle that I wouldn’t like to do it, please, and there are way better actors than me. Mr Anil Kapoor did it, and he was fantastic as the host", the superstar concluded. SRK had hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati 3, the only season that is hosted by another actor apart from Amitabh Bachchan in the show's history till yet.
Slumdog Millionaire was adapted from Vikas Swarup's novel Q & A. Apart from Anil Kapoor, the film starred Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto, Irrfan Khan, Madhur Mittal, Saurabh Shukla, and Mahesh Manjrekar among others. The film received 8 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Sound Mixing.
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