Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 2, 2017)

"It's an honour to direct them together,” says an elated Punit Malhotra, who has shot for a commercial with superstar Shah Rukh Khan and his better half, Gauri. Malhotra’s effusive display of emotions is understandable — it’s no mean feat to bring the King of Romance and his real-life romance together on screen.

As a project for Dharma 2.0, a creative outfit which allows in-house directors to work on ads, Malhotra took on the ambitious assignment of shooting the couple. How is the real-life chemistry between B-Town’s power couple? “Dreamy, easy and every bit beautiful — just what the world would imagine them to be. People have never seen Shah Rukh sir and Gauri ma’am in this light,” the director says.

While Khan is, needless to say, a natural in front of camera, the star wife refrains from facing the arc lights. Malhotra reveals that Khan made sure that his wife was comfortable in front of the camera. “Before Gauri ma’am faced the camera, Shah Rukh sir would run her through the shot. During her shots, he would sit somewhere close and give her cues. I wanted to capture the chemistry of a husband and wife, who have been married for years. It’s sweet how they know each other’s habits like the back of their hand.”

Malhotra agrees that convincing the star wife for the commercial wasn’t easy. It took Gauri’s good friend Karan Johar to change her mind. “She was apprehensive initially, but barely took any time to warm up. Everyone on set was familiar with her and that put her at ease.”

The superstar and his wife send out a strong message with this ad. “We show the man of the house doing all the work. We wanted to take the division of labour in a marriage to the next level.”