In 1997 produce-director Rakesh Roshan known for hits like Khoon Bhari Maang Khudgarz and Karan Arjun faced a major setback after the release of Koyla. Released in 1997 the action-thriller starred Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan Madhuri Dixit and Amrish Puri. The movie promised everything- an engaging story top-notch performances memorable music and intense action sequences. Despite all this it turned out to be a flop leaving the filmmaker devasted. Made under the budget of Rs 12 crore Koyla only earned Rs 28 crore worldwide. Despite its strong cast the audience rejected the film. One mistake in the project led a significant loss for the filmmaker. In an interview Hrithik Roshan recalled on the tough time surrounding Koyla. He remembered how his father was deeply affected by the films failure and lost all his money. Reflecting on the time Hrithik said Ek aur time tha jab Koyla ke baad there was some problem in the house. (There was a time when we faced a problem in our house after Koyla had flopped.) He had lost all his money whatever he had earned. Kuch kuch he had invested woh bhi gayab ho gaye aur kisi ko paise diye the woh bhaag gaya (His invested money vanished and someone who had borrowed some amount from my father had run away). The Bang Bang actor added that his dad Rakesh Roshan shed tears after the film lost all his money. Hrithik was an assistant director on the sets of Koyla. Its rumoured that the role in Koyla was initially offered to Sunny Deol before it went to Shah Rukh Khan. However Sunny rejected the offer as he didnt want to take on a mute character. In Koyla Shah Rukh played the character of servant who was forced to trick a woman named Gauri (Madhuri Dixit) into marrying his employer through a false photo. However Gauri falls in love with Shankar and tries her best to with him.