Actor Shah Rukh Khan who was in Chennai to promote his upcoming film Jawan, expressed his love for Tamil cinema by recalling his association with Director Mani Ratnam, Santosh Sivan, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. Speaking at the promotional event held at Sri Sairam Engineering College on Wednesday, August 30, Shah Rukh Khan said, “I’ll tell you how I started falling in love with Tamil cinema. Very early on, I understood that some of the finest cinema comes from Tamil Nadu. I was very lucky to make two friends [in the industry]. One was Mani Ratnam and the other was Santhosh Sivan. Then I got to know the wonderful Kamal Haasan when I worked with him in Hey Ram. That was the last time I spoke Tamil in a film. Then the greatest of them all became my friend by coming over one night and doing one shot for my film Ra-One: The great Rajinikanth. ”
Recalling his first collaboration with a Tamil filmmaker, Mani Ratnam, for Dil Se, Shah Rukh Khan also sang a few words from the film’s iconic song “Chaiyaa Chaiyaa”. The film was incidentally Mani Ratnam’s first original Hindi language film.
Shah Rukh Khan’s speech also took a playful turn. Vijay Sethupathi who had spoken on stage before Shah Rukh Khan, said that during school he had a crush on a girl, but he could not express it. He added that the girl had been “in love with Shah Rukh Khan”. “It has taken these many years to have my revenge,” Vijay Sethupathi further quipped. Vijay Sethupathi plays an antagonist in Jawan.
Responding to this, the Jawan actor said, “I didn’t understand anything that those who spoke before me said. They all spoke in Tamil, but I am sure they said good things about me. Except Vijay Sethupathi. You can have your revenge, sir. But not my girls. They are mine and now Jaffar’s (SRK’s character in Jawan).”
Shah Rukh Khan further described Vijay Sethupathi as “attagasamaana Vijay Sethupathi”. “I want to take a moment to tell you how much I love Vijay [Sethupathi]. I cannot tell you how much I’ve learned from you. I want to tell everyone in the Tamil film industry who has worked in Jawan that I am only here to learn from you.”
Thanking director Atlee, Shah Rukh Khan praised him in Tamil using the popular phrase “marana mass.” The phrase indicates that the person is extraordinary at what they do. Atlee is popular in Kollywood, particularly for his three hit films starring Vijay–Mersal, Theri and Bigil. The star also thanked music composer Anirudh, saying that the popular music director has become like a son to him. “He says that he will miss my phone calls. If he becomes big in the film industry, which he should, I hope that he does not stop taking my calls. I will miss you, my son.” He also called Anirudh a “Vithaikaaran”, meaning somebody who can perform great tricks.
Jawan directed by Atlee is set to release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on September 7. The film stars Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Priya Mani, Sanya Malhotra and others. Actor Deepika Padukone also features in a brief role in the film.