Ridhi Dogra says it’s ‘unfortunate to play’ Shah Rukh Khan’s mother in Jawan: ‘He told me many times…’

“Shah Rukh Khan is love, he’s life, he’s everything,” she said. Asked if she ever regretted not being cast as his love interest, she said, “Of course. It was very difficult for me to do what I did, and I’m so glad that he acknowledged it, even though he said it very casually on stage. But when he said that I was ‘unfortunately’ playing his mother, I was (swept off my feet). That’s it, I don’t need anything else, thank you. Yes, it is unfortunate to play his mother.”

Ridhi said that Shah Rukh told her ‘many times’ that it must feel ‘so wrong’ for her to play his mother, and she said that it did. “He’s such a charmer, he made me feel so comfortable the first time we shot together. It felt like we were old friends from Delhi. He was helping me with my lines, he didn’t have to do that, right? He wrote suggestions for me on the script. He doesn’t get tired. Even after he was told to pack up, he told me he’d return to say bye to me. He’s amazing,” she said, adding that she’d give herself pep-talks to not let him down.

Also starring Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi, Jawan has grossed more than Rs 700 crore globally, and is on track to pass Shah Rukh’s own Pathaan to become the biggest Hindi movie of all time in India.