Acclaimed filmmaker Sriram Raghavan, known for movies like Johnny Gaddaar, Ek Hasina Thi, Badlapur, and Andhadhun, recently shared an interesting anecdote from his struggling days. In a conversation with Pinkvilla, Raghavan revealed that he had unknowingly started adapting the story that would later become Abbas-Mustan’s Baazigar, the film that catapulted Shah Rukh Khan to stardom. After reading the novel, he felt inspired to turn it into a film, unaware of the rights or ongoing projects. However, when he narrated his version to veteran actor Tinnu Anand, he was surprised to learn that the film was already being made — with Anand himself acting in it. That project, of course, turned out to be Baazigar, adapted from the novel A Kiss Before Dying by Venus Films and Abbas-Mustan
Sriram Raghavan recently recalled watching Baazigar at Mumbai’s Anupam theatre, describing how the crowd went wild while he sat quietly, reflecting on what could have been. Speaking to Pinkvilla, he shared that his version of the story would have been much darker, staying closer to the original novel — focusing on a psychopath who kills three women in his quest to become a millionaire, with no revenge subplot. Raghavan also fondly remembered meeting Shah Rukh Khan and directors Abbas-Mustan later, laughing as he recounted telling them about his earlier connection to the story.
Later, he pitched the story to Vidhu Vinod Chopra. “I told him you produce it… But he said iss mein gaane nahi hai… aur yeh nahi woh nahi… and make it masaledar (this doesn’t have songs… this and that is missing… make it more spicy),” which Sriram disagreed with.