Fauji was an Indian TV series which aired on DD National in the year 1988, directed by Colonel Raj Kumar Kapoor. The king of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, made his acting debut with this series, and since then there was no looking back for him.
The story behind this was, SRK’s mother was looking for a home with Colonel’s son-in-law Kamal, who was into real estate business. There, his mother told him that his son is an actor and that he has been looking for some work. Later, Kamal introduced SRK to Raj Kumar Kapoor who was looking for some commandos for his upcoming TV series.
In an interview, the late director told that the 23-year-old Shah Rukh had turned up in his office, and there they had met for the first time. Along with SRK, 8 other candidates were shortlisted for the role of commandos. Raj Kumar Kapoor had taken everyone for a run. To his surprise, only SRK managed to hang on but rest everyone had left. Kapoor also mentioned that Shah Rukh Khan was famous for never showing up on time and arriving late for the shoots of Fauji. So he had once run behind him with a stone just to put an end to his ill punctual behaviour.
Although, SRK did not play the lead role he was the highlight of the series. He played the role of Lt. Abhimanyu Rai. On the death of Colonel Raj Kumar Kapoor, Shah Rukh had paid a tribute by writing, “He loved me so much. Encouraged me and today if I am used to being mollycoddled on sets it’s because of this man who made a ‘Fauji’ out of a boy, like his own. Will miss you Sir…always. May u find peace in ur new mission.”