6 min readMumbaiAug 5, 2026 02:41 PM IST

Shah Rukh Khan captured the nation’s imagination when he broke out on the big screen in Raj Kanwar’s 1992 hit romantic drama Deewana. But not too many know that he wasn’t the first choice for the role of Raja. Kanwar initially approached good friend Avinash Wadhawan for the part, since he had already worked with Kanwar’s brother K Pappu in the 1991 romantic film Ayee Milan Ki Raat.

Why Avinash rejected Deewana

“He tried to convince me a lot to do Deewana,” said Avinash. He responded that along with date issues, he has a contention with him playing second hero to Rishi Kapoor and entering the film only in the second half. “I was hesitating a bit. He said it’s going to be a very good role. The title is you! I didn’t used to get convinced by these things. I’d already been the solo hero in films,” he reasoned.

Avinash further argued that till Deewana was only on paper at the scripting stage, he wasn’t sure whether it’d eventually translate into a hit film. “I didn’t know how well Raju would direct it,” he said on Hindi Rush’s YouTube channel. While Kanwar had served as an assistant director on hits like Shekhar Kapur’s 1987 superhero movie Mr. India and Rajkumar Santoshi’s 1990 vigilante action film Ghayal, Deewana marked his directorial debut.

“The story of every film feels the same. What was the story of Maine Pyar Kiya (1989)? A poor girl, a rich boy, familial opposition, and eventual union at the end. Bobby (1973) was the same story, so was Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). But it also depends on how will the director make it, the soul he’ll put into the film, its treatment, whether its songs would be hit or not, and whether the audience will like the climax or not. Just listening to a story and visualizing it on screen are very different,” argued the actor.

Avinash attributed Shah Rukh landing Deewana to his “luck”. “He’s a great actor. I like him myself. He deserves to be wherever he is. And wherever I am, I deserve to be here because maine apne pair par kulhadi maari hai, ek bar nahi, do baar nahi, par dus bar (I’ve jeopardized my chances, not even once, twice, but some 10 times),” confessed the actor.

Avinash also rejected Phool Aur Kaante

Avinash passed on not only Deewana, but also what turned out to be Ajay Devgn’s debut film — Kuku Kohli’s 1991 hit action romance Phool Aur Kaante. He recalled being approached by Kohli’s young assistant director Rohit while shooting for Mahesh Bhatt’s 1992 horror fantasy Junoon. “I don’t know if he’s the same Rohit Shetty today, I’m not sure,” said the actor. Shetty indeed worked as an AD on Phool Aur Kaante, kickstaring his three decade-plus association with Devgn.

Rohit made Avinash listen to the songs that had already been recorded for the film, which he really liked. But he made it clear that since the producers had booked a college for shooting most of the film during the summer vacation, they required 40 days in a row from Avinash. “There was no question of that! But he told me they’ve made the payment to the college, and also booked the action director and choreographer Saroj Khan’s dates,” recalled the actor.

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But since Avinash had already committed to song schedules of four films with big directors, so he had to turn it down. “I think after that, they went to Akshay Kumar too, but even he couldn’t do it. Since Veeru Devgan was the action director, he suggested casting his son, Ajay. Nobody could’ve imagined that film would’ve become a superhit, not even Kuku Kohli or the producer,” said Avinash.

He recalled shooting with Akshay in Ooty when Phool Aur Kaante became a superhit, when both of them regretted turning down the film. Avinash lauded Devgn’s iconic entry shot of him standing on two parallelly running motorbikes. He also pointed out that he also benefitted from Salman Khan rejecting Ayee Milan Ki Raat. “This happens in the industry,” said Avinash.

Why Avinash couldn’t make it big

But he admitted that he was all alone navigating the film industry since he didn’t have a godfather and his father also belonged to the defence sector. “I also married early and became a father early. So, that added another kind of responsibility. They say that if you want to be in this industry, you need to eat, sleep, and dream movies. If you give your personal life more importance or not keep a check on your emotions, then it gets very difficult to survive in this cut-throat competitive world. Because there are many who are waiting to replace you. The struggle is constant,” said Avinash, adding that you can’t take success for granted since the industry can kick you out even if you’ve given big hits when you become out of sight.

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He also revealed that since he didn’t believe in manipulation, he fell prey to it himself. “I had a secretary, who started working for another hero alongside. That hero used to pay him more commission since he was already rich. I’ve heard that even the big films I could do, my secretary would say no on my behalf when I was busy shooting outdoor. Had I known that big producers and directors wanted to cast me, I’d have asked my secretary to manage my dates somehow. I could never wrap around it. I was a straightforward person from a simple Punjabi family in Delhi,” added Avinash.