In a recent interview, filmmaker Viveck Vaswani shared a surprising anecdote about the early days of Shah Rukh Khan's career and his relationship with Karan Johar and Dharma Productions. According to Vaswani, Karan Johar once called him in a panic, fearing his father, Yash Johar, would die if Dharma Productions didn't get a hit film. This desperate plea came after a string of box-office failures for the production house, including films like Gumrah, Duniya, and Muqaddar Ka Faisla, with Agneepath being the biggest blow.

To rescue Dharma Productions, Mahesh Bhatt offered to direct a film for free, provided Shah Rukh Khan starred in it. However, Shah Rukh Khan was not keen on working with Mahesh Bhatt. Vaswani explained that Shah Rukh felt his style of cinema didn't align with Bhatt's. There had been prior attempts to bring them together, but Shah Rukh had always refused.

Vaswani, a close friend of both Shah Rukh and Karan, found himself in the middle of this dilemma. Karan Johar's call conveyed the urgency of the situation, with Karan expressing his fear that his father would die. Understanding the gravity, Vaswani approached Shah Rukh, who was shooting at Mehboob Studios at the time.

Vaswani recounted an incident where someone claiming to be Shah Rukh's secretary, and an associate of Feroz Khan, aggressively questioned Vaswani's authority to arrange a meeting with the actor. Shah Rukh overheard the conversation and, in a fit of anger, used abusive language towards the person and made it clear that he did not want to work with Bhatt.

Despite his reservations, Shah Rukh ultimately agreed to do the film, Duplicate, to help Yash Johar. Vaswani emphasized that Shah Rukh's agreement was solely out of his respect and concern for Yash Johar. Although Shah Rukh agreed to star in Duplicate, he was not happy to work with Mahesh Bhatt. According to Vaswani, Mahesh Bhatt was rarely present on set during the filming of Duplicate, and the film was primarily made by Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan.

While Duplicate did not achieve huge success at the box office, it helped Dharma Productions to stabilize. Subsequently, the collaboration between Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan led to a series of successful films, including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., and Kal Ho Naa Ho. These films solidified Dharma Productions' position as a leading production house in Bollywood and cemented the strong bond between Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan.