‘Shah Rukh Khan has always played SRK; he’s himself only when he’s brushing his teeth’: Nikhil Chinapa dissects superstar’s aura

Nikhil Chanapa, who has been a staple on television for decades thanks to his hosting gigs for MTV shows, spoke about his interactions with Shah Rukh Khan, and attempted to dissect his aura. He echoed the sentiments of scores of others who’ve interacted with the star, and said that Shah Rukh devotes all his attention to whoever he’s speaking with at any given moment, but also acknowledged his imperceptibility.

In an appearance on the Untriggered with AminJaz podcast, Nikhil spoke about his encounters with celebrities over the years, and said that his conversations with Shah Rukh remain memorable. “I’ve interacted with him a few times, and he’s incredible for the amount of time that he has to spend on people that he barely knows. He makes it a point to acknowledge everyone in the room, while entering and leaving, and that’s a quality that not too many people have,” he said, adding that this is what sets Shah Rukh apart from a lot of other actors, ‘across the world, not just in India’.

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But, Nikhil continued, Shah Rukh is a tough nut to crack. “You’ll have to spend a lot of time trying to break down the layers. It’s all him, I think – I don’t know him very well – but there are so many layers of what he does, before you actually get into who he really he is. All the things that he does are all genuine, and nice, and they come from him. Nobody’s manufactured it for him. But there are a lot of layers of the onion,” he said.

Nikhil said that his ‘gut feeling’ is that Shah Rukh has ‘always played Shah Rukh’, even to himself in real life. “I think he’s only himself when he’s looking in the mirror and brushing his teeth,” he concluded. Shah Rukh has regained his crown as the country’s top movie star, and perhaps even its biggest international celebrity, with his grand comeback last year. In 2023, his three films – Pathaan, Jawan, Dunki – grossed a combined total of over Rs 2500 crore.