Shah Rukh Khan produced Ittefaq when Ravi Chopra had no money to launch son, refused interest as it is ‘haraam’: ‘I know what it is to have an ailing father’

Producer Renu Chopra revealed Shah Rukh Khan produced her son's directorial debut, Ittefaq, but refused to take interest on the money he invested in the film.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | February 24, 2025 11:16 AM IST

3 min read

Atul Srivastava recalls working with Shah Rukh Khan.(Photo: Pooja Dadlani/Instagram)

Producer Renu Chopra, wife of late filmmaker Ravi Chopra, recently spoke about her warm equation with Shah Rukh Khan and how the superstar has always been generous and humble with her family. She recalled how Shah Rukh produced her son’s directorial debut but refused to take interest on the money he invested in the film. She also shared how he once visited her home unannounced to check on her ailing husband, offering comfort by sharing his own experience of losing his father to cancer.

In an interaction with Pinkvilla, Renu revealed that she had approached Shah Rukh to back her younger son Abhay Chopra’s directorial debut, Ittefaq, which starred Sonakshi Sinha, Akshaye Khanna, and Sidharth Malhotra in lead roles. She recounted how Shah Rukh immediately agreed to produce the film. She said, “I said I do not have money to invest, and he said he will do it. I told him baaki mere bacche poori tarah se dil laga ke picture banayenge (I told him my children will put their hearts into making the movie). It was my younger son Abhay’s debut film. Unhone kahani bhi shayad padi nahi (SRK didn’t even read the story). His funda was, ‘I never back the horse; I back the jockey.’ He said, ‘If your son is backing it, I’ll back it.’”

Renu also explained that while producers usually charge interest on the money they invest in a film, Shah Rukh refused to do so, calling it ‘haraam’. “And to date… the money was always 50-50 down the line. And when the movie finished, like all other finances, normally there’s an interest rate. He said, ‘Nahi, ye haraam hai mere liye. Main nahi lunga (No, this is forbidden. I won’t take it),’” she said.

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She further shared a deeply personal memory of how Shah Rukh showed up at her house when her husband Ravi Chopra was unwell, just to check on him and offer his support. “He was so nice; he said, ‘I know what it is to have an ailing father.’ Shah Rukh’s father had cancer,” she recalled.

Renu also revealed how Shah Rukh had shared his late father’s words of wisdom with her, which helped her navigate the difficult period after her husband’s passing. “Shah Rukh’s father told him, ‘Tum wahi karo jo tumhara dil chahe and agar dil nahi chahe toh kuch mat karna kyunki jo kuch nahi karte woh kamaal karte hain (You do only what your heart feels like, and if you don’t feel like it, then don’t do anything because those who do nothing do wonders).’”

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