Rajkumar Hirani reveals that he had wished to sign Shah Rukh Khan since his ‘Circus’ days: “I saw the show at FTII. I thought ‘Amitabh Bachchan thodi hamare saath kaam karenge? Isko nazar mein rakhta hoon’”

By Fenil Seta -

December 22, 2023 - 9:03 PM IST

Rajkumar Hirani debuted 20 years ago with Munna Bhai MBBS (2003). The Sanjay Dutt-starrer recently completed 20 years, on December 19. It was originally supposed to feature Shah Rukh Khan. Two decades later, the blockbuster director and superstar finally worked together in Dunki, which was released on December 21. A journalist asked Rajkumar Hirani why it took him so long to work with SRK.

Rajkumar Hirani reveals that he had wished to sign Shah Rukh Khan since his ‘Circus’ days: “I saw the show at FTII. I thought ‘Amitabh Bachchan thodi hamare saath kaam karenge? Isko nazar mein rakhta hoon’”

Shah Rukh Khan, who was present with Rajkumar Hirani, joked as he told the director to reply, “Bad luck hi bol do yaar!” Rajkumar Hirani laughed at SRK’s witty reply and then said that he had wished to work with the latter when he saw him in his TV show Circus.

Rajkumar Hirani said, “I’ll tell you a story. I was a student at FTII (Film and Television Institute of India, Pune). Everyone out there is struggling and wondering how they will make their film once they graduate from the institute and producer kaun milega, actor kaun milega. One day, I was watching television in the common room. The TV show Circus was playing. I vividly remember even today what the camera angle in that show was. A monologue was being performed by an actor who I did not know. I said ‘Yeh bada kamaal ka actor hai, yaar. Hum pass out honge, tab Bachchan saab thodi kaam kar lenge hamare saath? Yeh actor ko main nazar mein rakhta hoon. Main niklunga aur main isko approach karunga. And I’ll make a movie with him.”

Rajkumar Hirani added, “By the time I graduated, tab tak Shah Rukh Khan bahut bade star ban chuke the. That’s how I had to wait 20 years!”

Shah Rukh Khan, at one point, regularly gave interviews to the press and even answered their queries at events or premieres. The star has stopped doing so in the last few years. He hasn’t given an interview since his last film, Zero (2018). He was a part of the success parties of his recent blockbusters, Pathaan and Jawan. But he didn’t take any questions from the media. Hence, the mediapersons were in for a pleasant surprise when the PR team of Dunki asked them to send questions that they’d like to ask SRK, actress Taapsee Pannu and director Rajkumar Hirani. The trio recorded their replies to media questions and as expected, it has made for a great watch.

Also Read: Dunki: Javed Akhtar reveals Rajkumar Hirani requested him to write Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Nikle The Kabhi Hum Ghar Se’