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...