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Time of India

Did you know Shah Rukh Khan nearly starred With Leonardo DiCaprio in a Martin Scorsese-backed film? ‘He wasn't ready to be second banana'

In what could have been one of the most iconic Bollywood-Hollywood collaborations ever, Shah Rukh Khan came close to starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in a gritty cross-cultural thriller titled 'Xtreme City,' backed by none other than Martin Scorsese . The project was envisioned by director Paul Schrader , who earlier opened up about the shelved film on the Pod Casty for Me podcast. In the year 2024, Paul Schrader revealed that the three powerhouses—SRK, DiCaprio, and Scorsese—met in Berlin to discuss the project. SRK was set to play a Mumbai gangster, with DiCaprio cast as an American cop who confronts him after having his life saved in India. The film was pitched as a sweeping crime drama merging Hollywood intensity with Bollywood flavor. Why SRK Walked Away While the idea sparked global excitement, Schrader shared that creative control became the breaking point. 'Shah Rukh is the boss,' Schrader said, explaining how SRK traditionally works with multiple directors handling different sequences—action, romance, musicals. According to Schrader, SRK wasn't used to working under a singular directorial vision, especially not in a Western production. 'He had never really worked under the harness of an auteur... and he had never been a second banana to somebody like Leo before.' The loss of full control and the idea of playing a secondary lead in a Western setup reportedly began to wear on SRK. His once 'firm' commitment became 'provisional,' which in turn caused DiCaprio's involvement to falter too. Eventually, the project collapsed. A 'What Could Have Been' for Global Cinema Schrader even briefly considered recasting SRK with Salman Khan but admitted he dropped the idea out of respect: 'If SRK found that out, that would have killed it for SRK.' Ultimately, the film never made it past development and we never got to see the iconic collaboration of our King with the 'Inception' star in a film backed by the veteran 'Goodfellas' director. Aishwarya refuses to work with Shahrukh Khan