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Abhay Varma says he wanted to retire after meeting his ‘god’ Shah Rukh Khan: ‘Makes you feel like you are meeting a friend’

Abhay Varma said that Shah Rukh Khan made him feel as if he was meeting a friend and even asked if he had faced any problems while traveling.

2 min readMumbaiJan 29, 2026 09:47 PM IST

Abhay Varma will be sharing the screen with Shah Rukh Khan in King.

Munjya actor Abhay Varma has long expressed his admiration for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. And as fate would have it, the actor is now working alongside his idol in Siddharth Anand’s King. Recently, while talking about his experience on the film, Abhay opened up about how surreal it felt to be in the same room as Shah Rukh, admitting that he could hardly believe he was finally meeting his hero.

He told ABP News: “He is obviously the King. And honestly, I admire him not just as an actor, but as a teacher. He represents the best of our youth, someone we can look up to. I have always placed his work on a pedestal, and for me, he holds the stature of a god. I respect him deeply.”

Reflecting on his first moments with Shah Rukh Khan, Abhay added, “In the beginning, I had this jittery feeling thinking, ‘I hope one day Shah Rukh sir knows that a guy named Abhay Varma exists.’ At the very least, I wanted him to know my name or maybe just see me once. But when I actually met him, when he hugged me and asked how I was, and asked if I travelled comfortably, it felt like I had reached my personal retirement stage, I couldn’t have asked for more from God.”

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Abhay Varma also spoke about how natural and warm Shah Rukh made him feel, putting aside any superstar aura. “When I would go back to my hotel, then it used to feel like as if I had met Shah Rukh Khan. But when I was sitting with him, talking to him, he never made you feel like he’s Shah Rukh Khan. He made it feel like you were meeting a friend,” he shared.

Apart from Shah Rukh Khan Abhay Varma, King boasts a stellar ensemble cast, including Deepika Padukone, Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Raghav Juyal, Jackie Shroff, and Rani Mukerji. The film is slated for a Christmas 2026 release.

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