‘I told Shah Rukh Khan we’ll split the bill at Don success party,’ recalls Ashima Chhibber: ‘I don’t think anyone has ever told him to go Dutch’

Ashima Chibber recalled a how Shah Rukh Khan also gifted her an expensive book after he noticed her reading it and realised as an assistant director, she won't be able to afford it.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | August 19, 2025 03:18 PM IST

Shah Rukh Khan once gifted filmmaker Ashima Chibber an expensive book about space and astronauts.

Director Ashima Chibber is currently basking in the success of Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, which has earned Rani Mukerji her first-ever National Award. Ashima is equally thrilled for Shah Rukh Khan, who has also clinched his maiden National Award for his performance in Jawan. Interestingly, Ashima shares a long-standing professional rapport with Shah Rukh Khan. Having worked extensively with him on Chak De! India, she recently recounted two of her most memorable experiences involving the superstar during a conversation with Zoom. She recalled an unforgettable dinner experience when the team was shooting in Australia and Shah Rukh’s film Don had just released.

“We were in the middle of our schedule in Australia, and Don was about to release. It actually released while we were there. So, we all went to see the film, and from there, we went out for dinner. The whole group was there, Shah Rukh sir included, and it was a huge group. Just girls were 32 itself, so imagine how big it must. So, everyone was having dinner, chatting, laughing, all of that. And since I was the first assistant director, I was the one organising things. I asked for the bill. When I saw it, I was like, okay… this is a big bill. I passed it to another colleague, and said, ‘What do we do about this? This bill is huge.’ And he just went, ‘Keep it away from me, I don’t even have that much money in my account.’ So I’m sitting there wondering what to do, and suddenly Shah Rukh sir just said, ‘Give it to me.’ He took the bill from me. And I was like, ‘Sir, we’re going to go Dutch.’ He looked at me, like I don’t think anyone in his life had ever said that to him, and he just went, ‘No. I am paying the bill.’ And I said, ‘Okay, sir.’”

Also Read | With Shah Rukh Khan winning his maiden National Award, the jury surprisingly showed both spine and sense. But what about us?

She further added, “But now when I think about it, I laugh at myself, like, how did I actually tell Shah Rukh Khan, we’ll split the bill? He couldn’t believe someone had said that to him. But my thought was, why should he pick it up? Don had just released, we should’ve been the ones treating him! Anyway, that’s the story.” In another touching memory, Ashima spoke of a deeply thoughtful gesture from the Chak De! shoot, one that has stayed with her ever since. “I was an assistant on Chak De! India. We were doing the airport sequence, where the girls arrive in Australia for the first time. We were waiting: as soon as the flight landed, we would get the camera ready, put our girls in it, and shoot them coming out. There were still about two hours left before the flight, and I love reading, so I wandered into the airport bookstore. I was browsing when I came across a book I really liked, it was about space, an astronaut book. I love reading about space. So I stood there, reading it for a while. But then the plane came in, so I had to put the book back. The shopkeeper even asked me if I wanted to buy it. I checked the price, thought, ‘No, I can’t afford this right now,’ and put it back on the shelf.”

She added, “I forgot all about it, and then the next day, we were shooting the man-to-man marking sequence. I was just standing at the back, doing my AD work, when suddenly Shah Rukh sir called out, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘Sir, I’m here.’ He said, ‘See what’s lying here.’ I went over, and it was the book. Oh God, I still remember that moment. He must have seen me reading it the day before, must have noticed how much I liked it, and known it was too expensive for me to buy as an AD. So he had quietly bought it and gifted it to me. I still have that book with me, it’s one of my most prized possessions. There were so many moments like that on Chak De. For an assistant director, these are dream projects. To be working with Yash Raj, with Shah Rukh Khan, with such a fantastic director like Shimit Amin, it was heavenly. And those films also teach you so much technically: how to put together a sports film on such a huge scale, how to take a superstar and rebuild him as a completely new character. There are many memories, but this one… this one has really stayed with me, right here in my heart.”

Editor's Choice