In an appearance at the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year awards on Wednesday, Shah Rukh Khan addressed the tough times his family has gone through in the recent years. He also touched upon his lean phase between 2018 and 2022.

“The last four-five years have been a bit of a ride for me and my family. I’m sure [it has been like that] for some of you, too, 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 I really bother about (sic),” Khan quipped while accepting the marquee award.

“And then, at a personal level, a little bit of bothersome and unpleasant things also happened... Which made me learn a lesson that ‘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, out of nowhere, life may come and hit you,” he added, referring presumably to son Aryan’s arrest in an alleged drug case in 2021.

The 58-year-old, who starred in three films in 2023 — Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki (2023) — concluded on an optimistic note: “But this is a time you need to be the hopeful, happy, honest storyteller and kind of think this is a nasty plot twist. Because somebody somewhere told me that life mein, filmon ki tarah, anth mein, sab theek ho jaata hai. Aur agar theek na ho, toh picture abhi baaki hai mere dost.”