Prahlad Kakkar Chose Aamir Khan Over Shah Rukh Khan Despite Paying Four Times More

Famous ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar once made a surprising choice that shocked the film industry. He picked Aamir Khan for a soft drink advertisement even though Shah Rukh Khan was willing to work for much less money.

Shah Rukh Khan had agreed to do the ad for Rs 6 lakh as he wanted to buy a home and move out of his paying guest as he was short of that amount. At that time, SRK was living in a rented place and desperately needed money to buy his own house.

On the other hand, Aamir Khan asked for Rs 25 lakh for the same work and refused to lower his price. This meant Kakkar had to pay more than four times what SRK was asking for.

So why did Kakkar make this expensive choice? The main reason was simple – image and fit. Aamir’s image as a clean, trustworthy figure perfectly complemented the campaign’s intended message. Kakkar felt that Shah Rukh however still looked like a wannabe at that time.

Kakkar convinced Aamir by promising him that the ad would enhance his reputation as an actor, telling him “It will make you bigger as an actor”. The advertisement was from 1995 and was for a soft drink brand, and it became quite successful.

This story shows how sometimes creative vision matters more than budget in advertising.