Entertainment Desk:

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has refrained from media interviews in the past five years, except for promotional press events. He has rarely discussed his personal life in the public domain and media since his son Aryan Khan became embroiled in a drug controversy.

However, on Wednesday night, he not only made a rare appearance at a media event but also shared insights into the challenging times that his family endured in the last few years and the lessons he gleaned from those experiences.

“The last 4-5 years have been a bit of a ride for me and my family. I’m sure for some of you also because of Covid. Most of my films flopped. Analysts started writing my death knells, some idiots did the same, which actually is the same thing, analysts and idiots. Not something that I really bother about,” Shah Rukh Khan said after receiving a special award from CNNNews18.

“And then, on a personal level, a little bit of bothersome and unpleasant things also happened, to say the least, which made me learn a lesson that ‘be quiet, be very quiet and work hard with dignity.’ When you think everything is good, and still know it in your heart when everything is good, suddenly out of nowhere, whom…life may come and hit you,” he added in the media interaction, presumably referring to the arrest of Aryan in an alleged drug case in 2021.

SRK then, in his filmy style, shared his words of wisdom.

“But this is a time you need to be the hopeful, happy, honest storyteller and continue doing whatever you are doing and kind of think this is a nasty plot twist, this is not the story you are living. And 100 percent is not the story’s end. Because somebody somewhere told me that life mein filmon ki tarah, anth mein, sad theek ho jaata hai. Aur agar theek na ho, toh anth nahi hai. Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost. And I believe in him because I believe that goodness begets goodness,” he said.

After a few years of a tough phase, SRK, in 2023, made a grand comeback and let his work silence the detractors.

SRK returned to the silver screen with Siddharth Anand’s ‘Pathaan’ in January. In the film, SRK donned an action avatar and left everyone in awe.

The film broke several records at the box office and managed to grab a name in the list of one of the highest-grossing films in the Indian film industry. Remember the clamorous death knell tolling for the Hindi film industry all through 2021 and 2022? His film literally ended Bollywood’s dry spell at the box office.

‘Pathaan’ will always remain special for SRK and his fans as the film marked SRK’s first hit after his sabbatical of four years post delivering a series of duds like ‘Zero’ and ‘Jab Harry Met Sejal’.

After ‘Pathaan’, King Khan returned to theaters in September with Atlee’s directorial ‘Jawan’. The film once again saw SRK in an action avatar. Like ‘Pathaan’, ‘Jawan’ also managed to strike a chord with the audience. The film collected over Rs 1000 cr. at the worldwide box office. Needless to say, SRK has had a phenomenal year.

SRK did not stop here. On December 21, he came up with his first-ever collaboration with Rajkumar Hirani. Titled ‘Dunki’, the film focuses on the issue of immigration. Its title is taken from the term “donkey journey,” which refers to the long-winding, often dangerous routes that people across the world take to reach the places they want to immigrate to. However, the film received mixed reviews from the audience. It did decent business at the box office.

On registering a success streak in 2023, SRK at the event expressed gratitude to the makers of ‘Pathaan,’ ‘Jawaan,’ and ‘Dunki.’

“But seriously, I want to thank Sid Anand for making ‘Pathaan’ with Aditya Chopra, and Atlee for making the biggest hit in Hindi cinema in ‘Jawan,’ and Raju Hirani and Abhijaat Joshi for making the most beautiful film for me… ‘Dunki.’ Without them and the honest, hard work of all the other cast and crew members of these films, I wouldn’t be standing here tonight. So I dedicate this award to all of them. I will dedicate it to them but won’t give it to them… at all,” he quipped.

He concluded his speech with a big thank you to his audience.

“I would like to thank everyone here and people watching on television. Hoards of you this year came to watch my films; some of you may not have liked them. But deep down I know you came to support me and my family. So, I bow down to you. And, thank you for bringing cheer to my family, my children, my loved ones, and thank you for making me the star I am, yet again,” SRK added.

Source: ANI, The Statesman