Shah Rukh Khan’s 2004 film Swades, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, earned critical acclaim for its compelling narrative and powerful performances. But did you know the film may have drawn inspiration from a 1990s television series titled Yule Love Stories?

The anthology series, which aired daily episodes, featured a segment called Vapasi. Interestingly, Ashutosh Gowariker himself starred in this episode, playing the character Mohan—coincidentally, the same name as Shah Rukh Khan's role in Swades.

Much like the film, Vapasi focused on an NRI named Mohan who returns to India for his beloved Kaveri Amma and ends up falling in love with a woman named Geeta. The striking similarities between the two have resurfaced online after a clip from the TV episode was shared on platform X (formerly Twitter). The post read: “Hardly anyone knows SRK lowkey lifted Swades from a ’90s Zee TV episode. Bro really made a movie outta a TV serial and y’all out here calling it a masterpiece.”

The resurfaced video clip gained attention shortly after actor Aamir Khan revealed in an interview that he had initially turned down Swades, finding the story unengaging. Speaking to Zoom, Aamir said, “I found it very boring! I told this to Ashu when he narrated it to me.

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In fact, he shared the story with me while we were working on Lagaan. Back then, it was titled Kaveri Amma.”

He added, “It was a three-hour-long narration. When he asked for my thoughts, I said I wanted to be honest—‘I got bored.’ I felt it was important to share my initial reaction.”

Meanwhile, Aamir Khan is set to appear next in Sitare Zameer Par, which also marks the return of Genelia D’Souza to Bollywood.

Source: With inputs from NDTV