Just a few years before the pandemic, Shah Rukh Khan was experimenting vigorously with his movies. He played a psychologist, a resentful fan, a vertically challenged man, and a moonshiner – all of which didn’t really make up for good box office numbers. His rough phase ended with a disastrous movie titled Zero in 2018 which was directed by Aanand L Rai. However, the filmmaker reveals that the superstar was already scripting a comeback when everything was going wrong.
After Zero’s debacle, SRK took a five-year-long hiatus from showbiz before returning with back-to-back hits like Pathaan and Jawan. Recently while speaking to Connect Cine, Aanand L Rai was asked about Shah Rukh Khan‘s reinvention during the time when people wrote him off. “The best part is, he knew,” said Rai adding that the superstar was confident that would surely make an earth-shattering comeback.
The filmmaker said that exactly a month after Zero’s unfortunate fate, SRK knew what he was going to do. “He was very clear. Nobody knew but he knew that he is coming back. In fact, in that moment I was sitting in front of him, jab unhe pata tha woh kya karne waale hai aur kaise (when he knew what he is going to do next and how). He was never lost. He knew that he isn’t going anywhere, that, ‘I am there.’ It is not even about survival, you don’t call him Baadshah for no reason, but he knew and did exactly that,” Rai added.
After Zero, Khan was rumored to lead Saare Jahan Se Achha, a biopic of Indian astronaut Rakesh Sharma but he moved past the same and decided to make a comeback straight in 2023. Last year, he had three movies in his name – Pathaan, Jawan, and Dunki – all three of them became a commercial success.
Khan is now preparing for his upcoming movie titled King about which Pinkvilla was the first one to report. This Sujoy Ghosh actioner will star him alongside daughter Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Munjya star Abhay Verma. The movie is expected to go on floors in November this year.
Aanand L Rai, on the other hand, recently saw his project Phir Aayi Hasseen Dilruba released on Netflix. It starred Taapsee Pannu and Vikrant Massey in key roles.
