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Aryan Khan, the director and creator of The Ba***ds of Bollywood, has not given any interviews since the release of his show on Netflix. But, he recently shared that when things in his life got difficult in the past, he would remind himself of the character Jaraj Saxena’s dialogues. In the show, Jaraj is played by Rajat Bedi, and is a character who has not lost hope despite staying in the wings for two decades.
In a statement to Netflix India, Aryan said, “Whenever things got difficult, I’d hear Jaraj’s voice in my head, ‘Haarne mein aur haar maanne mein bohot farak hota hai (There is a difference between losing and accepting your loss)’. At first, I thought it was motivation, but soon realised it was just lack of sleep and fatigue. Still, that vision kept me going, and now to see the happiness my work has brought people is deeply emotional for me.. it is why I do what I do, it is what drew me to storytelling.”
Aryan went through a particularly bad patch in his life when he was arrested in drugs related charges from an alleged rave party in 2021. He stayed in custody for 25 days and recently, in his show, he took a dig at the arresting officer Sameer Wankhede via a sketch. Aryan never spoke about his arrest even though parents Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan addressed it. Gauri, on Koffee With Karan, said there can be nothing worse that a parent can experience while SRK tangentially spoke of the lesson a personal upheavel in life taught him: ‘be quiet, be very quiet and work hard with dignity’.
Talking about the love that his show has received, Aryan said, “The love from around the world has been incredible, with the show trending across countries and filling timelines with reels, memes, and fan theories. What began as my story now truly belongs to the audience, and it’s only because of Netflix that this story could reach homes across the globe. As Jaraj would humbly say…Ab pehechana?”
Aryan Khan’s first project has been produced by his father Shah Rukh Khan. The show features cameos from the biggest stars of Bollywood including Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, among many others. SRK also features in the show in a couple of scenes.
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