doweshowbellyad=0; Shah Rukh Khan (TOI Photo)Everyone who has met or worked with SRK seems to loves him. Is that the secret of his super-success?Sure, he’s the superstar of Bollywood, but it seems that Shah Rukh Khan is also top contender for the title of the nicest, most helpful guy in the industry. Whoever has worked with him is full of praise for the star.
And we don’t mean just the Karan Johars, the Farah Khans and the Preity Zintas of filmdom.
It’s every co-star, spotboy, and of course all the actors and newbies he has acted with. They rave, gush and go totally overboard when asked for a reaction to SRK.Actor Shreyas Talpade, who has acted with the King Khan in Om Shanti Om, is one of his big fans. “I’m fortunate to have worked with Shah Rukh Khan this early in my career. I’ve never seen a superstar like him. I had perceptions of him sitting closeted in his van, but he’s such a generous, secure actor, willing to share his time and space. Knowing I’m from theatre, he wanted to use my inputs in the scenes we did. We would discuss each shot and improvise. I want to work with him again and again,” he says.Arya Menon, who made her debut as one of the girls on the hockey team in Chak De! India, was totally bowled over by how welcoming SRK is towards newcomers. “He’s awesome with newcomers. He gave us all useful tips and pointers and was very sweet to all of us. We’d all get hugs and he made us feel very at home,” she says. Arya adds that he’s very observant of all the actors’ comfort levels on the sets. “If we felt uncomfortable, he’d notice it, even if he was a kilometre away. He’s got a good eye for that sort of thing. He made the effort of putting us at ease even if he wasn’t in the frame. I’m told a lot of big stars don’t do that,” she says.Anaitha Nair, another of the hockey-playing gals in Chake De! India, is also a fan. “He’s amazing, really sweet,” she told BT, “Many of us were facing the camera for the first time and he was so helpful.”Kirron Kher, who has worked with Shah Rukh Khan on several movies — Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Veer-Zaara, Main Hoon Na and Devdas — confirms what Shreyas says about the Baadshah not being insecure and adds that it helps immensely when shooting. “He’s wonderful to work with. He’s not at all insecure and doesn’t interfere in the scene. He helps build a scene, which is how things should be done. He gives very unselfish inputs. And it’s great fun to work on one of his productions. He treats you like a guest,” she says.