JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Shah Rukh Khan's Chennai Express co-star Nikitin Dheer recalls his 'magnanimity' on set; says THIS about Salman Khan
In a recent interview, Nikitin Dheer talked about his experience of working with Chennai Express co-star Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan.
Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are among the celebrated stars of Bollywood. Not just fans, but their co-stars are often seen heaping praises on them. Now, recently, Nikitin Dheer who has worked with both the Khans talked extensively about his experience of working with them.
During a candid conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Nikitin Dheer revisited memories of working in the Rohit Shetty directorial Chennai Express with Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. He recollected King Khan telling him that a hero is only as intimidating as a villain, while he encouraged him to not hold himself back while performing the action scenes.
Nikitin Dheer recalls his first day on the sets of Chennai Express
Nikitin recalled the first day of the shoot as unknown, while he was ‘taken aback’ seeing Deepika and SRK with their entourage on the huge sets of Rohit Shetty. He shared, “I would sit in the corner and do my thing, but the magnanimity of Shah Rukh Khan… Instead of calling me to him, he brought his own chair next to me and sat down. I’ll never forget it.”
Nikitin Dheer recollects memories of performing action scenes with Shah Rukh Khan
The actor further recollected the memories of a scene where he had to grab Shah Rukh’s cheek and say, "Tu apne aap ko bada hero samajhta hai kya (Who do you think you are)?” Nikitin admitted to being nervous as he kept discussing with SRK how the scene should be done.
In response to this, he shared SRK telling him, “Do whatever you want, however, you want to do it. The more intimidating you are, the better the scene will be.”
Additionally, Nikitin shared that prior to the film’s release, Shah Rukh had to undergo surgery following a severe shoulder injury. Fearing not to harm the superstar, Nikitin wasn’t giving his 100% to the action scenes, despite being assured by King Khan to remain at ease.
He recalled Rohit Shetty taking him aside and explaining to him not to let go of the opportunity. The Jodhaa Akbar actor further mentioned how the director convinced him to give his all to the action sequence. He went on to reveal that the fight sequence went on for 8–9 days without cables and, duplicates between him and SRK.
Shah Rukh Khan's sweet gesture towards Nikitin Dheer during Chennai Express' promotions
During the conversation, Nikitin walked down memory lane as he reminisced memories of being invited to the film promotions for the first time. He mentioned being bulky, he’d stand behind everybody else. The actor said, “I was totally dumbfounded by the audience’s reaction at the trailer launch because I was a nobody."
Dheer further recalled, "I was standing behind everybody because I didn’t want to block the crowds’ view, but then, Shah sir grabbed me by the hand and pulled me forward. He said, ‘Out of these 1000 people, even if 20 come for your character, it’s a good thing’.”
Nikitin Dheer heaps praise on Salman Khan
Calling it the ‘best experience’, Nikitin says he realized how being a star is easy but to maintain that stardom for years is a ‘different level of accomplishment’. Having worked with Salman Khan (Dabangg 2) and Shah Rukh, Dheer stated he knows what stardom is, and no other actor has ever enjoyed it. He also called them the last of the stars, highlighting the ‘euphoria’ around them.
Adding to his point, Dheer narrated the example of shooting the climax scene for Dabangg 2 where 50 bodyguards fell short to control the humongous crowd that gathered to see the star.
He went on to recall how they had to double the guards for him the next day. The actor stated when Salman urges people to move aside to give him the way and people actually move is the actual love that he enjoys.
Latest Articles
