A year before he debuted with Deewana in 1992, Shah Rukh Khan featured in a short film that not many people knew about until 2016.

It was a short film titled Mahaan Karz made in 1991 for the occasion of Easter, the Christian celebration of the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead. King Khan was 25 back then — an aspiring actor with dreams, completely oblivious to the stardom he will gain in the near future.

Mahaan Karz was uploaded on YouTube in 2016, and it quickly went viral on social media. Directed by Dinesh Lakhanpal, the film was based on a fable from the Bible. As per Letterboxd, it revolves around a treasurer’s son who wants to work at a Maharaja’s castle. After being hired on the terms that he never dishonour his employer, he finds himself in peril after taking on great debt while gambling.

Lakhanpal was well aware that Shah Rukh Khan was rapidly making progress in Bombay’s film industry and that it would be difficult for him to take on a short film for Doordarshan.

Despite all the odds, the director approached Shah Rukh, who was growing busier with each new project he signed. The actor already had the Doordarshan television series Fauji and Circus to his name back then.

Without even asking Dinesh about the details of the film, Shah Rukh rearranged his schedule and made time to play the role offered to him in Mahaan Karz.

The superstar even offered to work on the film for free as it was for Easter. But eventually, he accepted a modest payment of just Rs 3,000.

Produced by Allan Luther, Mahaan Karz also featured R.K. Mala and Vimla Thakur.

Mahaan Karz is available to watch on YouTube.