Shah Rukh Khan's highly anticipated King is reportedly being made on a lavish budget to ensure a never-before-seen experience for audiences. The Siddharth Anand directorial has a budget of Rs 350 crores, according to a report in Bollywood Hungama. This excludes the sum for marketing and other additional expenses.
What's even more interesting is the mention that the project was initially supposed to feature Shah Rukh Khan in an extended cameo, with Sujoy Ghosh attached to direct first — a fact known to anyone who has been closely following the project’s development. The superstar was reportedly so impressed with Siddharth Anand's vision that he was willing to spend the required bucks to make it possible.
"What takes millions of dollars for the West to execute, Siddharth Anand is aiming to do the same at 1/5th the cost. The initial budget was Rs. 150 crores only, but the script had scope to go bigger and better," a source told Bollywood Hungama. "When Siddharth Anand came into the picture, he sat down with SRK to make the film on a grand scale, by designing action sequences on a never-before scale. SRK is a producer who loves to spend and treat audiences with the richest spectacle. He gave Sid a free hand, and the director came back with a budget of Rs. 350 crores."
The report also describes King as a "global film made in India" with around six major action set pieces. Three of them are shot at real locations, while the remaining three are set to be shot on sets.
The first look and title announcement video was revealed on SRK's 60th birthday. It showed SRK sporting a salt-and-pepper look, with the protagonist being teased as a fearsome personality who killed "a lot of people."
The short glimpse features lines that hint at the fearsome personality of SRK's character, the titular ‘King’. There are visual hints that King is set in a high-security prison, aside from sequences shot in possibly other parts of the globe.
The makers are aiming for a 2026 release window.
SRK and Gouri Khan are backing the project under the Red Chillies Entertainment banner in association with Siddarth Anand's Marflix Pictures.