Exclusive: Shah Rukh Khan’s lookalike Prashant Walde rendered jobless by COVID-19 crisis

Countless daily wagers have lost their jobs due to the economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them is Prashant Walde, a lookalike of Bollywood superstar, Shah Rukh Khan. Prashant, who would work as SRK’s body double in Bollywood, was forced to take up a job offer from Dubai after there wasn’t enough work for him in B-Town, as the actor has been spacing out his films over the past two years. And now, the #CoronaCrisis has left him jobless once again.

Back home in Mumbai, he tells BT, “I have been a handyman for filmmakers working on Shah Rukh bhai’s films and commercials. In his absence, they would use me for long shots and cheat shots, too.”

Prashant, who has worked in films like Om Shanti Om, Don 2, Chennai Express and Fan, apart from many commercials, says that his B-Town career took a hit a few years ago. “Hum lookalikes ki life hi aisi hai. Over the past few years, I wasn’t getting much work. The number of stage shows reduced, too. The last time I shot with Shah Rukh bhai was in December 2019, for an ad film,” shares Prashant, who used to earn `30,000 per day as an SRK lookalike.

With no work, debts mounted. He continues, “I have two children and my wife is a homemaker. So, I needed a steady job, but didn’t know anything else apart from being SRK’s body double.”

In December 2019, an opportunity knocked on the door and Prashant flew to Dubai. “I got an offer from a Bollywood theme park, where I had to work as an SRK lookalike in 12-hour shifts. I had to stage 15 shows, each lasting 12 minutes,” he shares.

However, within three months, he was sent back home following the coronavirus outbreak. “I was lucky that I reached Mumbai on March 21, otherwise I would have been stuck due to the lockdown,” he says, adding that all his earnings have gone into clearing dues. “It’s become a matter of survival now. There are over 160 artistes like me in India and we had set up an All India Look Alike Association (AILAA), but it hardly has any funds. So, we recently approached the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), and while they did offer some help, we are still struggling to make ends meet,” he rues.

Has he reached out to SRK for help? “I made a living out of his identity, so it feels embarrassing to go to him for help. I am sure some solution will come up,” signs off Prashant.