‘How could Shah Rukh Khan say this?’ Anubhav Sinha says he was hurt when SRK called Ra.One a flop, understood the reasons later

Mumbai, Oct 26: “Love will win, no matter what,” said filmmaker Anubhav Sinha as he discussed Shah Rukh Khan, and recalled working with the superstar on their 2011 film Ra.One. Mounted on a big budget, the film underperformed at the box office, leaving both Shah Rukh and Anubhav heartbroken. Shah Rukh bounced back after a string of similarly disappointing films earlier this year with Pathaan, which eventually emerged as his biggest hit, with over Rs 1000 crore at the box office.

Shah Rukh found himself at the centre of several controversies in the months leading up to the film’s release, but maintained a stoic silence through it all. He also refused to promote Pathaan through traditional means and opted out of doing interviews and making public appearances. The strategy paid off.

In an interview with Connect FM Canada, Anubhav hailed Shah Rukh as more than a star. He said that SRK is ‘part of the DNA of Indian society’, and listed the several reasons why his stardom eclipses everybody else’s. “People learn from him, how to love, how to respect women, how to respect each other… I have learned to open doors for others because of that man. You go to his house, it is impossible that he doesn’t see you off, and open the door of your car for you, and stand there as you leave,” he said in Hindi. “Shah Rukh respects all gods, he respects children… Grace makes stars, and Shah Rukh’s grace is unprecedented,” he said.

Anubhav also reflected on Ra.One, and said that although both he and Shah Rukh are on separate paths, nothing is permanent, and one day, they might decide to work together again. He did, however, highlight one incident that left him heartbroken about the entire experience. “It has been 12 years since Ra.One was released. People started calling it a flop soon after it came out, but I never did. Until one day, when I saw Shah Rukh himself calling it a flop on TV. My heart was broken. I thought to myself, ‘How could Shah Rukh say this?’ After that, even I started calling the film a flop, until people told me it did fairly well. It made Rs 135 crore in India, back then. It didn’t perform as well as we’d have liked, but it still did fine. We’re still talking about the film, so it definitely wasn’t a flop. Shah Rukh had given the film his all. He was hurt, that’s probably why he said what he said. I was hurt by what he said, but I was young then,” he said.

Anubhav joked that people might believe that he’s praising Shah Rukh because he wants to work with him, but he promised that he has no script for the star. The filmmaker has pivoted to making politically conscious films in the last half-decade, and this week, he’ll release Bheed, which is set in the early stages of the pandemic-induced first lockdown.