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Long before Shah Rukh Khan became Bollywood’s ultimate romantic hero, he led a television adaptation of a classic Russian novel. It’s one of the untold chapters of his career. The adaptation aired on television during a time when Shah Rukh Khan was still primarily known for his work in television shows like Fauji and Circus.
He hadn’t yet become the box-office force that he is today. So, it can be said that this choice felt less like a strategic career move and more like an artistic experiment.
Mani Kaul, a key figure in India’s parallel cinema movement, helmed this project. He was known for his minimalist, meditative style with long silences, restrained performances, and an emphasis on mood rather than spectacle. Kaul’s touch made the project radically different from the emotionally charged, high-drama productions Indian television audiences are used to.
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Shah Rukh Khan’s Ahmaq
In the early 1990s, a young Shah Rukh Khan stepped into the role of Prince Rogozhin, the morally bankrupt hero of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot. SRK’s role was for a lesser-known Indian television project titled Idiot or Ahmaq.
It was neither glamorous nor commercial. But the project displayed Shah Rukh’s proficiency in playing nuanced characters with psychological and moral depth.
Ahmaq Cast
The Hindi adaptation was produced for Doordarshan during a period when the channel occasionally experimented with serious, literature-driven programming. Alongside King Khan, the cast of Ahmaq included Ayub Khan Din, Mita Vasishta, Vasudeo Bhatt, and Babulal Vora, among others.
The cast was drawn largely from theater and arthouse circles, signalling that the project leaned more into literature than mass entertainment. The four-part series was later adapted into a 3+ hour film titled Ahmaq.
Where To Watch Ahmaq
The series never received a formal digital release. Low-quality clips and episodes occasionally surface online, but there is no streaming option available at the moment. However, a version of the film is available on YouTube.
It debuted at the New York Film Festival in October 1992, but it was never commercially released. As Shah Rukh Khan’s success grew, Ahmaq became a forgotten piece of his filmography, a trivia more than a milestone.
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