It's known that Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan made his Tamil film debut in legendary actor-director Kamal Haasan's 2000 historical fiction-political thriller film Hey Ram. The film starred Kamal Haasan in the titular role of Saketharaman Iyengar while Shah Rukh Khan portrayed the role of his friend Amjad Ali Khan.

In a recent interview, Kamal Haasan confirmed that Shah Rukh Khan acquired the Hindi remake rights of Hey Ram jointly produced by him and Bharat Shah.

"Shah Rukh only got a wristwatch for acting in my film at the time because, by the end of it, I had nothing left in hand. Now, he is the brand ambassador for a watch brand. I am glad that he got the Hindi rights of Hey Ram from Bharat bhai (co-producer Bharat Shah). He should have some memory of the film as he gave his friendship and service for it", Kamal Haasan revealed.

Hey Ram also featured an ensemble star cast including Shah Rukh Khan, Hema Malini, Rani Mukerji, Girish Karnad, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Vasundhara Das. The film also went on to bag three national film awards in the year 2000 for best supporting actor (Atul Kulkarni), best costume design (Sarika) and best special effects (Manthra).