‘Shah Rukh Khan lives on tandoori chicken and coffee, but will eat anything served with…’: Aanand L Rai

Filmmaker Aanand L Rai, who directed Shah Rukh Khan in Zero and Akshay Kumar in Atrangi Re and Raksha Bandhan, recently spoke about his experience working with the two stars, along with some insights into their food habits. In a conversation with Mukesh Chhabra on Mashable India, Aanand revealed that during the shooting of Zero, he and Shah Rukh often discussed their evening plans after wrapping up for the day. He also described Akshay as ‘sensitive’ and ‘highly focused’ in his approach to work.

During the interaction, Aanand was shown a photo of himself having a conversation with Shah Rukh on the sets of Zero. Commenting on the image, Aanand revealed that despite appearing to be deep in discussion, the two were actually chatting about their evening plans after wrapping up the shoot. He then shared details about Shah Rukh’s eating habits, saying, “If you give Shah Rukh tandoori chicken, coffee, and one of his beverages, he could live on that meal forever. But if something is served with love, he’ll eat anything.”

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Talking about Akshay, Aanand called him a “sensitive” and “highly focused” person. He shared, “Akshay doesn’t understand things if they’re too straightforward; he likes everything with a little ‘masala.’ He is very sensitive person but he doesn’t show. He also wants to enjoy the process. He wants to enjoy every moment. He has gotten everything in life because he is very hard working and very focused. He isn’t misunderstood by people. No matter how big a star he is, he never forgets his values.”

Zero (2018), which also starred Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, was a box office disaster. After its failure, Shah Rukh took a long break, returning in 2023 with back-to-back hits, Pathaan and the mega-blockbuster Jawan. As for Akshay, Atrangi Re, which also featured Sara Ali Khan, saw modest box office success, but their next collaboration, Raksha Bandhan, failed to perform and was declared a flop.