Renuka Shahane was his co-star in the popular serial Circus, way back in 1989
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; November 2, 2015)


The first thing that struck me about Shah Rukh Khan was his awe-inspiring confidence. He was from Delhi and I was from Mumbai so he had a different way of talking and being. But once I got to know him as a co-star, I felt he was born to be a star.

During one of the shoots, I saw around 20,000 people waiting on the sets to see him. This was a big deal; such adulation was, till then, reserved for film stars. But Shah Rukh gained that kind of popularity with Fauji.

The best thing about him was he treated everybody equally — whether it was the producer or the spot boy. It was so refreshing that he didn’t believe in hierarchy. He was always full of energy and would survive on a cola and cigarettes throughout the day! We used to shoot in two shifts — day and night — and he would practically be in every scene. Yet, he would be fresh and ready for an extra shift if need be! He used to tell me, “Renuka if the director says jump, you should jump”. He is a complete performer, it’s in his bones. And, he thrives on appreciation.

Another thing I noticed about him is, he is extremely respectful towards women — their contributions and independence. I think it comes from the fact that he was close to his mother. His father passed away early and she was the driving force in his life.

Would you believe, in those days, he was clear that he was not interested in films! He would say he never wanted to do films and that he was happy doing TV. I remember when he signed his first film Dil Aashna Hai he had come on the sets (of Circus) with Viveck Vaswani, who was a close friend of mine. We were dying to know about the scenes he had shot then. At that time, he used to look at the film industry differently. He would find the whole idea of spot boys holding an umbrella for the stars and the alag treatment of them very funny. Here with Kundan Shah and Aziz sir, everybody was equal and we would have lunch together.

And yes, he was totally in love with Gauri. He was dating her, but he couldn’t call her directly, so he would make me or Anita (Sarin, an actress) call her landline (there were no mobiles then). Her parents would take the call and we would ask for Gauri, once she came on the line, Shah Rukh would take the phone. It was such fun and Shah Rukh loved Anita’s voice, so he would make her call often.

Today, we are not in touch, but whenever we meet, he greets me warmly. After Circus, I met him when I was shooting for Hum Aapke Hai.. Koun? and he was shooting for Baazigar and later when I was doing Kora Kagaz and he was doing Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.

After all, you never forget the first people you work with.