When it comes to Shah Rukh Khan, no stage is ever too big or too small for his charm — and this time, the spotlight wasn’t on his films, but on his son, Aryan Khan. The superstar turned up in Mumbai to launch Aryan’s directorial debut, Netflix’s The Ba***ds of Bollywood, and true to style, he began with humour.
"Aryan ne jab mujhe bataya ki main papa main ek show karne waala hu, Raw, fatigue, aur usme kuch madness hogi. Toh mujhe laga kahin yeh Mannat ka CCTV toh Youtube pr daal rha hai (When Aryan told me, ‘Papa, I’m working on a show — it’ll be raw, intense, with a bit of madness,’ I honestly thought he was just planning to upload Mannat’s CCTV footage on YouTube") Shah Rukh quipped, recalling his initial reaction when Aryan started experimenting with visuals at home. But soon, the scepticism gave way to admiration.
“He was actually creating something fresh and unique, and I’ll be honest, it took me a little while to reach, to really catch on and to catch the tone of the show. But once I did, I was completely drawn in, and honestly, I’m really, really happy about it. But not only about the show, the entire cast that has come together to tell this story, because it's the characters that breathe life in the story and create magic onscreen.”
Despite recovering from shoulder surgery, Shah Rukh’s energy filled the room. With the National Award for Jawan still fresh in memory, he couldn’t resist a cheeky one-liner: “1-2 mahina lagega mujhe recover karne ke liye, lekin National Award uthaane ke liye mera ek haath hi kaafi hai.”
For Aryan, the evening carried an entirely different set of emotions. It was his first time addressing a live audience, and he confessed to being both nervous and excited. “I have been practising this speech for the past two days, and three nights. I have also made sure to put it in on the teleprompter and with small notes. And even if I make a mistake, Papa is here - backup.”
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Looking back on the project’s journey, he revealed just how much effort went into the series. “The motive of this show is to bring a lot of entertainment to a lot of people. After four years of hard work, endless discussions, and thousands of takes, the show is finally ready.”
Before wrapping up, Aryan turned towards his mother, producer Gauri Khan, with a line that melted hearts: “Thank you for producing the show and for producing me.”
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