Shah Rukh Khan’s approach to work is extremely exciting, says Aanand L Rai
It’s the first time that they have teamed up but Shah Rukh Khan and Aanand L Rai seem to have already struck a solid bond vis-à-vis their next, Zero. In fact, the film-maker has made an interesting statement that SRK is the “best newcomer” a director can ever work with. Ask Rai about it and he says: “It’s all thanks to a great actor like Shah Rukh, who acts as if he is doing his first film. What I want to pick up from him is that how he can be so fresh and ‘new’ as an actor every time he is in front of the camera. His approach [to work] is very exciting. He is extremely energetic and I have seen that only in young actors.”
The Tanu Weds Manu series director admits that at times, he is really surprised about how the superstar “manages to keep things so simple”. “Only a young newcomer will give you this feeling, and say, ‘yeh bhi kar loon?, ‘yeh bhi kar leta hoon’, or ‘aise kar ke dikhaun kya?’ What I am learning from him through this entire process is that every time you come [on the sets]; you behave as if it’s your first film. Doing that after spending 25-30 years of his life in this industry, and with so much of experience and success behind, it’s really not easy,” says Rai.
Although his film stars names such as SRK, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif, Rai says the film is “big only because of the kind of story I am telling”, adding, “Shah Rukh, Anushka and Katrina have become like my friends. They have made my life so simple. I am really thankful to my actors who have given me this space where I can really focus on this tough, beautiful story rather than other things. They have been my support system and let me fly [as a director] on the set. They also let me enjoy the process and that’s the reason it is shaping up like this. Otherwise, you can’t [do it]. I need my people around me and I know we will deliver a cracker of a film.”