When Aamir Khan Charged Rs. 25 Lakh For Pepsi Ad & SRK Asked For Only Rs. 6 Lakh As He Wanted To Buy Mannat

Talking about the time when Aamir Khan was a budding actor, Prahlad Kakkar revealed details about shooting for an old Pepsi commercial.

Talking about the time when Aamir Khan was a budding actor, Prahlad Kakkar revealed details about shooting for an old Pepsi commercial.

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New Delhi: Advertising film director Prahlad Kakkar, known for his work with the likes of eminent personalities like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Sachin Tendulkar, recently opened up about an old commercial shoot involving Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan.

Talking about the time when Aamir Khan was a budding actor, Prahlad Kakkar revealed details about shooting for an old Pepsi commercial. In an interview with Zoom, Prahlad Kakkar revealed that the particular ad featured Aamir Khan, Mahima Chaudhary and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

When Kakkar was in search of the male lead, Aamir Khan's name was suggested. However, Aamir who had recently gained a lot of fame and success with the debut film 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), demanded a sum of Rs 25 lakh for the ad.

Interestingly, when Shah Rukh Khan was approached for the same advertisement, he asked for just Rs. 6 lakh. And, this happened at a time when both SRK and Aamir Khan were legit stars in their own right. 

Kakkar also explained that at the time, SRK was living in a rented property and was looking to buy a house but fell short of the required amount.

Despite the difference in fee, Kakkar was more inclined to shoot the ad with Aamir Khan and later shot another advertisement with Shah Rukh Khan. 

Kakkar also added that initially, Aamir was unwilling to do the product commercial, as at the time, it was thought that the actor's career was not going well and they had to turn to ads. However, Kakkar persuaded Aamir by assuring him that the ad would only elevate his status as a star even more.

"It will make you bigger as an actor,” he told Aamir.

Ultimately, Aamir agreed to do the commercial but insisted on a fee of Rs. 25 lakh. The ad also skyrocketed Aishwarya's career post the ad. 

Kakkar also added that he received several calls where people inquired about who 'Sanju' was. Aishwarya played Sanju in the ad.

Kakkar added, "Overnight, Aishwarya became famous as I got 1000 phone calls asking me who is ‘Sanju’?”