WHEN SRK GOT LATE TO OSO SHOOT

As Om Shanti Om completes 10 years of its release, actor Shreyas Talpade recalls shooting the film and Shah Rukh Khan’s modesty

The film Om Shanti Om was a trendsetter — from its dialogues (Remember Ek Chutki Sindoor?), to the music (Dard E Disco and Ajab Si), everything was a big hit. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the lead, the film remains iconic to this day.

This revenge-cumre-incarnation drama, directed by Farah Khan, had actor Shreyas Talpade playing the role of Om’s (played by Shah Rukh) best friend, Pappu Master, who encourages him to pursue his dream of becoming a big movie star.

Remind Shreyas about the film completing 10 years, and he reveals how he landed the role. “Iqbal (2005) had released, and I and Nagesh (Kukunoor, director of Iqbal) had wrapped up Dor. I and Farah used to go to the same gym, and I skipped a day. The next day, someone told me that Farah had left her number for me. I called her up, and she told me she was making a film, and whether I would like a narration.”

Shreyas goes on to relate what transpired on the first day of shooting, as Shah Rukh got late. “The first scene we had to shoot was the scene where I tell Om ‘Tu hero banega’. We’d been given a call time of around 8.30 in the morning, and Shah Rukh got late. He came and apologised to everyone for being 45 minutes late. Farah, too, said, ‘Kya Shah Rukh, teri khud ki production hai and you yourself are late?!” He politely said to us, ‘I am sorry, but you all please come by 10 tomorrow because I can’t come by 9.’ We all just cracked up!” Shreyas says.

The actor also shares the incredible experience the cast had at Leicester Square, where the film had its world premiere. “The interviews were happening on the red carpet. Shah Rukh and I were waiting in the loo for our turn. So he said, ‘Yahaan pe Tom Cruise ki film ka bhi premiere hua tha. We need to make sure ki apni film ke liye bhi log aayein’. He proposed that we dance on the red carpet to our film’s songs to attract enough people,” he recalls.

But what happened next left Shreyas awestruck. “There were only 20-30 people when I, Arjun (Rampal, villain of the film), and Deepika were waiting. But the moment SRK’s car came, a huge crowd started gathering. It took him an hour to walk 50 metres from the red carpet to the theatre door, because the press and people went crazy seeing him. He was so humble to think that not many people would turn up for the premiere!” he says.

We had been given a call time of around 8.30 in the morning, and Shah Rukh Khan got late. He came and apologised to everyone for being 45 minutes late, and politely said, ‘I am sorry, but you all please come by 10am tomorrow as I can’t come by 9’ SHREYAS TALPADE, ACTOR

PHOTO: JASJEET PLAHA/HT Shreyas Talpade says that despite being a globallyrecognised superstar, Shah Rukh Khan was willing to dance at the world premiere of Om Shanti Om, in order to “attract enough people”