Baazigar’s original ending had Kajol Kill Shah Rukh Khan, filmmaker Abbas-Mustan reveal why they changed it

Baazigar’s original ending had Kajol Kill Shah Rukh Khan, filmmaker Abbas-Mustan reveal why they changed it

Before Shah Rukh Khan became synonymous with romance, he shocked audiences with Baazigar (1993) , a thriller that redefined the idea of a Bollywood hero. But as it turns out, the original version of the film was much darker than what made it to screen.

In a recent interview, director duo Abbas-Mustan opened up about the film’s early draft. “In the first draft of the film, the hero was an out-and-out negative character,” Mustan said.

The story initially portrayed Shah Rukh’s character as a deeply broken man, scarred by an abusive childhood. His father was a violent alcoholic who beat his mother, and the young boy grew up with a single focus — to become rich and powerful at any cost.

This twisted ambition led the character to infiltrate the lives of a millionaire’s two daughters. His plan? Get close to both, murder one, and take over the father’s empire. But the original ending didn’t show him getting caught or redeemed. Instead, the second daughter, after uncovering the truth, kills him. That second daughter was played by Kajol.

The filmmakers, however, realised that while the plot had shock value, it lacked heart. "We realised that the film would not work without emotions, and the biggest emotion is the mother and father's," Mustan explained.

So they went back to the script and rewrote it , this time layering Shah Rukh Khan’s character, Ajay Sharma, with a powerful backstory. His father is murdered, his mother is wronged, and his sister — whom he dearly loves dies — becomes another emotional anchor.

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This emotional core was key to making audiences empathize with Ajay. “We thought of Shah Rukh’s character as a hero; he was negative, but he was our hero,” Mustan said. “You have to understand why he did what he did in the film.”

The revised film managed to strike that tricky balance. Ajay Sharma wasn’t just a cold-blooded villain; he was a man consumed by vengeance, yet vulnerable because of his past. That emotional complexity turned Baazigar into both a commercial hit and a defining moment in Shah Rukh Khan’s career.

Even today, the film is remembered as one of SRK’s boldest roles — where he was not just the hero or the villain, but both. And that, Abbas-Mustan believe, was only possible because they chose emotion over pure shock.