What Happened To Shah Rukh Khan - Leonardo DiCaprio Film (X image @SRKFCI)
The thought of Shah Rukh Khan and Leonardo DiCaprio in one frame itself gives goosebumps for fans, not to mention when pitted against each other. Khan as an underworld gangster, and DiCaprio as a New York Cop! What more could fans wait for? Well, heartbreak incoming. The film was on the table once, but is shelved, and most probably will not happen, as per reports.
The film, which was reportedly named as Xtreme City, was supposed to be directed by Paul Schrader under the banner of Martin Scorsese. Written by Paul and Mustaq Sheikh, the film once had a future.
The team even met at Berlin Film Festival in 2011 to have a discussion on the film. A picture featuring the said biggies, and presumed to be taken during the mentioned talk, circulated on social media platforms.
But it failed to take off. Speaking to PTI, Mushtaq said, “It’s a different kind of film, one where both Indian and American protagonists are balanced human beings and the story treats them in their full complexity without either culture being diminished or taken for granted. It’s a cross-cultural thriller designed for both Bollywood and Hollywood. And if we get it right, (then) this will be an attempt at true global entertainment”.
Paul pointed at Khan for the film to be shelved. Speaking to The Magazine, he said he got the feeling that Shah Rukh Khan – whom the filmmaker said need to have full control on whatever he does – was never going to be comfortable in doing an international film that he didn’t control. “Just got the feeling that he was never going to be comfortable doing an international film that he didn’t control. You know that everything SRK does, he has total control over? So if he did something like this at an international level, he wouldn’t have that control. I think in the end he wasn’t that comfortable not being a hundred percent in control”.
Reportedly, he also said that Shah Rukh Khan, who has “never been a second banana to somebody like Leo before”, might also be the reason for him to step back. He said he went to Mumbai several times during writing the story, and he felt Khan’s “firm” commitment eroding to “provisional”, which in turn made DiCaprio’s commitment from “firm” to “provisional”. “Now you have two ‘provisional’ commitments, which means you have no commitments at all”, Paul said.
Shah Rukh Khan, often known as ‘King Khan’, enjoys massive fan base across the globe. The star has never done any film beyond India, but somehow managed to grab himself a place in millions of fans across the world.
When Asked about doing a Hollywood film, at Berlin Film Festival 2008, he said, “My English is not good, if they give me a role of a dumb person who doesn’t speak, maybe then there’s a possibility. I am not trying to be modest, I am 42 years old. I am a little brown. I don’t have any USP as an actor, I don’t have any specialty. I don’t know Kung Fu, I don’t dance salsa, and I am not tall enough…I have seen the recent European films, there is no place for me there, no space for me. I don’t think am talented enough. Instead, I would like to continue working in India and take Indian cinema to the world”.
