REVEALED: “Shah Rukh Khan was so NERVOUS that he didn’t approach the girl” – Imtiaz Ali

By Fenil Seta -

November 18, 2019 - 10:44 AM IST

Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most articulate and smartest actors of the industry. His interviews and the way he converses are always a treat to witness. Hence, his admirers have often expressed surprise when the superstar has claimed that he’s quite shy in real life. That side of his never comes out when he’s in public. But at a recent conversation, Imtiaz Ali, who directed him in the 2017 romcom Jab Harry Met Sejal, narrated a very funny experience with regards to Shah Rukh Khan.

REVEALED: “Shah Rukh Khan was so NERVOUS that he didn’t approach the girl” – Imtiaz Ali

Imtiaz narrates of an incident that took place during the shoot of the film. He said, “Shah Rukh ke andar ki jo hichhichkichahat ha na, woh kabhi jaati nahi. We were in Portugal and nobody recognized Shah Rukh there. We were meanwhile trying to impress Anushka Sharma. We threw a challenge and we told him ‘why don’t you approach that girl over there’. You won’t believe, he was so nervous that he just didn’t go for it! He instead told me to talk to the girl. Shah Rukh is the romantic hero who can do anything for the heroines in films. But over there, he got so nervous! Accha laga mujhe yeh dekh kar. Even I was nervous but I forgot all about it when I saw King Khan’s nervousness.”

Jab Harry Met Sejal is the story of a depressed middle-aged tour guide who gets a new lease of life when a chirpy tourist compels him to help find her lost ring. There were reports that in the original draft, Harry, the character essayed by Shah Rukh Khan tries to commit suicide in a crucial scene. Imtiaz however clarified, “This is not true at all. We never had such kind of a scene in the script. I just narrated him the concept, which was less than one-line idea of the film. He liked it and said ‘yeh banate hai. Isko develop karo’. Also, he’s a very classy person. He won’t tell you ‘isko badal do’.”

Imtiaz Ali also dabbled in theatre in Delhi at one point and this was a time when Shah Rukh Khan had already become a famous name. He stated, “I had never met Shah Rukh Khan then. He was our senior in theatre and we used to keep hearing about him that he was doing plays with Barry John. He had, by then, started working on ‘Circus’ and ‘Fauji’. Prabhat Ranjan (novelist) once told us that he’s very handsome. I asked him ‘Aapko yeh handsome lag raha hai?’.” Imtiaz however then admitted that later, even he started to find the superstar good-looking. He then continued, “He once threw a private party in a restaurant for people in the theatre circuit. Dil ka woh hamesha bahut bada raha hai.”

After spilling beans about the actor, the filmmaker got a bit cautious and in lighter vein, he joked, “Shah Rukh has a good body. If he beats me, I won’t be able to counter”.

Meanwhile, Imtiaz Ali is gearing up for his Valentine’s Day 2020 release, starring Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan