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Let me start this article by honestly stating that I was a person who was not really fond of Shah Rukh Khan until I first saw him at PVR Juhu on 8th August 2013. I don’t recall exactly what was the purpose of his visit, but to what I remember, he had visited the multiplex to gauge the audience reaction of his film. At around 9 pm, everyone around PVR Juhu got the news that Shah Rukh Khan has come to the cinema hall, and the area started getting crowded. I was at Chandan Cinema, Juhu watching the paid preview of Chennai Express, and like everyone else, out of sheer excitement even I joined the crowd along with a group of friends.
A big superstar like Shah Rukh Khan is bound to create hysteria at all his public appearances, and this was no different. As the crowd started going out of control, Khan noticed that a lady was getting pushed by the people there, and he immediately asked his bodyguard to escort the lady. Well, this was the first personal experience of seeing SRK, and his small gesture just made me realize why he is loved by millions of people across the globe. From being not so fond, I reached a stage wherein I started respecting Khan. Never did I knew that one day I would become a journalist and interview the man himself. Well, journalism happened by chance to me and so did my first interview with Shah Rukh Khan before the release of Happy New Year. I would like to state that Shah Rukh Khan was the FIRST major Bollywood star whom I was going to interview, and he was the first among the 3 Khan’s whom I met. The nervousness and under confidence was visible on my face. And why not, a 19-year old boy who entered journalism by chance is going to sit in front of one of India’s biggest superstar and question him. The interview took place at his office in Khar, and after interviewing the entire cast of Happy New Year, came my chance to interview Khan.
It was a group interview with 4 other people accompanying me and all of us aged in the range of 19 – 24 years. As we entered Shah Rukh Khan’s cabin, he knew that all of us were nervous. To just make us feel comfortable, he says, “So happy to see young journalists taking over” and asked our age. As he turned to me to ask my age, I replied “I am 19,” to which he reacts by a smile saying “I don’t even remember what was I doing at the age of 19” and well the informal conversation just before the interview created a comfortable atmosphere. As the interview started, the superstar lit his cigarette following which a colleague sitting there started coughing. And well, what he did next was something that no one I have interviewed has ever done. He asked the journalist if he should stop it in case the smoke is creating a problem, and despite the journalist having no issues with the smoke, Khan didn’t smoke again. I have interviewed almost all stars from the industry, and no one has ever asked us if we are comfortable with the smoke or no, leave aside the gesture to not smoke. The interview with Khan which was scheduled for 15 minutes, went on for nearly 45 minutes and finally he obliged all of us which a picture and wished all the best. This was one incident that further enhanced my respect for the superstar to an extent that I started admiring him for the gentleman that he is.
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