‘Shah Rukh Khan took a pocha and quietly mopped the floor’: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani AD recalls humility of SRK, reveals how he corrects junior artistes

Shah Rukh Khan corrects even junior artists very affectionately. The biggest lesson you can learn from him is humility, says Faruk Kabir who worked as an Assistant Director on Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Khan's 2000 production debut.

Shah Rukh Khan mopped the floors on the sets of Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.

Faruk Kabir may be making spy and action thrillers like Salakkar and the Khuda Haafiz franchise now, but his roots go back to Aziz Mirza’s 2000 film Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla as reporters, in which he was an assistant director. Kabir shared remarkable anecdotes about Khan’s hard work on the sets and how the superstar is extremely humble.

“Whoever works with Shah Rukh is first embarrassed by how less he works because Shah Rukh works too hard. He’s constantly present once he’s on set. He’s not mentally absent. He’s in that world, with his actors and his director. If some junior artiste is not doing something right in the background, he’d go and correct him affectionately. He doesn’t show attitude, scold or scream at people. He does all of this with a lot of love,” recalled Kabir.

In the interview with The Lallantop, he added, “Despite being such a huge star, he has so much humility. That’s the biggest lesson you learn from Shah Rukh.” Kabir recalled while shooting the popular song “I Am The Best,” Shah Rukh reached the set early after lunch break to rehearse. He had to slide on his knees for a shot, but he couldn’t do that properly because the floor wasn’t smooth then.

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“So he borrowed a bucket and a mop from the production department nearby. He went there casually, smoking a cigarette. After stubbing it, he began mopping the floor. There were only three or four people on set then. Even the lightmen were fast asleep. So I rushed, grabbed the other mop, and started mopping the floor along with Shah Rukh. He reached the set early because he was done with lunch. But he didn’t wait for the crew to reach as they were still eating. Then he rehearsed and was ready for the shot once the crew arrived,” recalled Kabir.

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani also marked Shah Rukh’s debut as a producer. It was backed by Dreamz Unlimited, a production house he started with Chawla and Mirza. While the film didn’t work at the box office, Dreamz Unlimited went on to produce Santosh Sivan’s 2001 period drama Asoka and Mirza’s 2003 romantic drama Chalte Chalte, also starring Shah Rukh.

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In 2004, as Mirza took a backseat, Shah Rukh changed the name of his production house to Red Chillies Entertainment, which continues to back films and shows till date. Its first production was Farah Khan’ 2004 directorial debut Main Hoon Na, also starring Shah Rukh. Its next production is Shah Rukh’s son Aryan Khan’s directorial debut The Ba***ds of Bollywood, a show that will drop soon on Netflix India. Meanwhile, Kabir’s latest release is the spy thriller show Salakaar, starring Mouni Roy and Naveen Kasturia, which is streaming on JioHotstar.

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