What is the ‘Anjaam’ of saying ‘Naa’ to SRK? Audience found out, and loved, in 1994

The year was 1994. Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai, who would later dazzle the film industry, had won the Miss Universe and Miss World crowns respectively. In Bollywood, Hum Aapke Hain Koun had captured the imagination of many with its romantic story and stellar music.
Away from the razzmatazz at the top, Shah Rukh Khan, who would win Best Male Debut award for Deewana the same year, would showcase the depth and variety in his art. Having just been recognised for playing a young lover of a widowed Divya Bharti, he was working towards going in the opposite direction.
Lined up for SRK were Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Anjaam. He had already played an obsessive lover in Deewana, an anti-hero in Baazigar and Darr but with these two films, he was slated to up the ante significantly.
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa had a blunt sales pitch: Shah Rukh Khan. Kundan Shah. Suchitra Krishnamoorthi.
The poster didn’t need more. Audiences already knew a lot. Shah Rukh bought the rights of the romantic-comedy. He was just two years into his film career, still trying to establish himself in the country’s biggest film industry, when he approached producer Vijay Gilani to bring Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa to the silver screen.

“My film was ready even before Baazigar and Darr released, but no distributor was buying it. In fact, even after those films released and became hits, distributors did not want to buy it. One day, Shah Rukh spoke to (producer) Vijay Gilani and he agreed to buy the film. So Vijay Gilani, Venus (Worldwide Entertainment) and Shah Rukh became joint producers and bought the Bombay territory. That’s how the film released in Mumbai. It’s all due to Shah Rukh’s effort that the film saw the light of day,” director Kundan Shah once told Rediff.
Talk about risky business. It reportedly took Shah Rukh a decade to recover the film’s cost. The year 1994 would arguably prove to be the diciest period of Shah Rukh’s career with the release of back-to-back films that dared him to expose his range as a performer.
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa which released in February 1994, was the story of an aspiring musician, played incredibly by Shah Rukh, who is not very good academically and even fails to charm the girl (Suchitra Krishnamoorthi) of his dreams. He loses her to Chris (Deepak Tijori), the man she loves.
Shah Rukh often calls it his favourite film. “I really believe this film is the sweetest warmest happiest film I have done,” he wrote on the film’s 30th anniversary this year.
But ironically, it was the other role, in the same year in April, that made him more popular: an outrageous bit as a stalker, obsessive lover in Rahul Ravail’s romantic psychological thriller Anjaam. Of the two performances, it’s by far the most piercing performance by SRK.
It made Shah Rukh as someone who was trying to present himself as a versatile actor who often collaborated with different directors and didn’t frequently take up a film of the same genre. He worked with Aziz Mirza (Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman), Ketan Mehta (Maya Memsaab), Rakesh Roshan (King Uncle), Abbas-Mustan (Baazigar), and Yash Chopra (Darr). Along with actor-producer Vivek Vaswani, who helped him in launching his career in the movies, SRK strategised on how to become a “saleable actor”.

Madhuri Dixit with Shah Rukh Khan and Deepak Tijori in Anjaam.

With both Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Anjaam, he portrayed obsessive lovers, yet he demonstrated through sheer talent how two distinct characters, despite their intense feelings, navigate the pain of unrequited love. With remarkable nuance, he showcased the complexities of love and heartbreak, captivating audiences with his ability to breathe life into these contrasting roles.
“SRK is once again playing SRK” has often been a common complaint directed at the actor. However, before his iconic Rajs and Rahuls set unrealistic expectations for his female fans regarding love and romance, Shah Rukh Khan, in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, showcased how an ordinary man navigates the pain of heartache.
After badmouthing Anna for not reciprocating his love and accusing her of being manipulative, a disillusioned Sunil soon realises that he doesn’t own the woman he loves. Director Kundan Shah never justifies his outbursts in the name of “pyaar mein sab jaayaz hai” (Everything is fair in love).
In fact, Sunil is crafted as the boy next door who feels no shame in admitting his mistakes. Ultimately, he understands that forcing his love on Anna won’t win her heart. Instead, he leaves her alone to embark on a journey to find love elsewhere. Unlike the stereotypical heartbroken man who drowns his sorrows in alcohol, Shah Rukh’s portrayal of Sunil allows audiences to see a relatable character—someone you can imagine knowing and befriending. Or, even feeling sorry for.
Shah Rukh played Sunil with such sincerity that director Kundan Shah believed the film’s success was largely due to him. In an interview with Rediff, Kundan mentioned that although film promotions weren’t common at the time, Shah Rukh took the initiative to promote Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa at a theatre in Hyderabad.

Shah Rukh Khan looked adorable in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa.

“We went to a theatre in Hyderabad where the film was screening, interrupted the show, and interacted with the audience. We spoke to them for ten minutes, then watched the rest of the film with them. The crowd went wild. I told Shah Rukh that their reaction wasn’t for my film, but for him and his charisma. Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa worked because of Shah Rukh,” the director said.
While SRK became Bollywood’s lover boy in 1995 with Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, he actually laid the groundwork for his future romantic roles with Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. Watching him in tears as he walks away from Anna during Chris’s proposal scene still feels as painful as witnessing a friend face heartbreak.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Rahul Rawail’s Anjaam serves as a study of male insecurity. Early in his career, SRK emerged as a bona fide anti-hero in Anjaam, where he portrayed a dangerously obsessive lover, opposite Madhuri Dixit’s Shivani. As a viewer, it’s hard to believe that a man adorably singing “Badi Mushkil Hai Khoya Mera Dil Hai” can do the terrible things he does to the woman he claims to love.

For those unfamiliar with the film, one might draw a parallel to Kabir Singh’s possessive claim that Preeti is his and only his. Yet, unlike Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s world, Rahul Rawail’s narrative doesn’t offer a happy ending to such toxicity.

Shah, well-deservedly, won the Filmfare Award for Best Villain for the film. The character he played, Vijay Agnihotri, was far more menacing than both Darr’s Rahul Mehra and Baazigar’s Ajay Sharma put together.
The film’s director Rahul Rawail once shared the experience of working with SRK and Madhuri. “It was wonderful directing them. They were always ready to go to any extent to make their part look convincing,” he told Hindustan Times.
Even after thirty years, Anjaam can still be really frightening. Unlike Baazigar, it doesn’t rely on the typical Bollywood plot device of a hero’s mother’s tragedy to excuse his behaviour. Agnihotri is a clear-cut sociopath.
Although Shah Rukh Khan shows some of his usual mannerisms in his performance, he also brings in some impressive details. Vijay is immediately attractive when he meets Shivani and refuses to back down, acting like he’s almost above everyone else. He toys with people’s lives, and when Shivani sees through his charming facade — she warns her husband Ashok (Deepak Tijori) about his ill intentions. This complexity makes Vijay feel real and makes him stand out from the typical characters in mainstream movies.

Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Anjaam.

When analysis are done of the Bollywood Badshah’s career, 1995 is considered the defining year, the year he earned the title ‘King of Romance’ with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, but arguably it was 1994 – with Anjaam and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa – that set the stage for his future glory as an actor.
Though the two films adopt different styles, their underlying message remains clear: no means no, even for Shah Rukh Khan.
In 2023, Shah Rukh made a triumphant return to films after a four-year hiatus, proving that he is much more than a nostalgic memory. With his passion for acting undiminished, he shows no signs of slowing down — age is just a number for him.