Choreographer Ahmed Khan directed his first film, ‘Lakeer: Forbidden Lines’, in 2004. It starred Sunny Deol, Suniel Shetty and John Abraham. But not many people know that this wasn’t supposed to be his first film. His real first project was meant to be made by Shah Rukh Khan, with SRK also acting in it. Ahmed has now talked about the story of that film and why it was never made.
Ahmed Khan on the story of ‘Sabr’
In an interview with News18, he said, “At that time, before Lakeer, I had written a film called Sabr. The film was supposed to star him in a double role. AR Rahman also agreed to compose the music. It was a story of a grandfather and a grandson – when he was born, his grandfather was no more but he knew everything about him as he had heard stories of him when he was in his mother’s womb. It was an emotional story”.
Ahmed Khan recalls when Shah Rukh was set to launch two directors
Shah Rukh was slated to play a double role in the film. That year, the superstar was also planning to launch two choreographers as directors, Farah Khan and Ahmed themselves. “When I told Shah Rukh about it, he said he would want to do the film. I was in a haste to make it. Shah Rukh was launching two choreographers as directors under his production that year – Farah and me. At that time, it was called Dreamz Unlimited,” he recalls.
Ahmed Khan on why the film kept getting delayed
The story resonated with him right away. “Shah Rukh heard my script and he loved it. It was a serious film. Rahman had begun working on its music. It was supposed to star two other heroes,” Ahmed shares. So what happened next? “His commitment was towards Farah first. Basis my understanding, my film would happen only after Farah’s. I couldn’t jump the queue. But her film kept getting pushed. It got delayed by about two years because Shah Rukh had other commitments to fulfill, and making a film takes a lot of time. I was getting restless. I was all set to start my film. And then, finally, Main Hoon Na went on floors. It would’ve easily taken them a year or a year-and-a-half to finish it. I couldn’t have waited that long,” Ahmed says.
Ahmed Khan on Shah Rukh’s words that touched his heart
Even though Shah Rukh asked Ahmed to hold on a bit more, he couldn’t, and he moved on to start work on Lakeer. “I remember speaking to Shah Rukh and him telling me, ‘Don’t go anywhere. Your first film has to be with me.’ He spoke to me like an elder brother would and his words touched my heart,” states the Baaghi 2 and Welcome To The Jungle director. This situation, however, didn’t affect their bond, but Ahmed chose to never go back to that story. “I asked him if it’s okay if I make my second film with him and he told me, ‘Tu hi ja raha hai.’ That’s when I drifted off and made Lakeer. But that never impacted our equation. That film never got made. It was only meant for Shah Rukh. But I know it’s never too late,” he remarks.