‘Shah Rukh Khan was sitting on the toilet pot, coming up with marketing strategies for Om Shanti Om’: Shreyas Talpade recalls learning from the master

Shreyas Talpade praised Shah Rukh Khan's marketing acumen, which he got to witness up close when they worked together on Om Shanti Om.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | May 9, 2024 01:00 PM IST

4 min read

Shah Rukh Khan and Shreyas Talpade in a still from Om Shanti Om.

Actor Shreyas Talpade looked back at his experience of working with Shah Rukh Khan on the film Om Shanti Om, and said that he agreed to do the film purely because he wanted to work with Shah Rukh and director Farah Khan, despite people telling him that he should aim for only lead roles. In an interview, Shreyas said that even though he isn’t in regular touch with Shah Rukh any more, whenever they meet, it’s like no time has passed.

Shreyas said that he learnt a lot from Shah Rukh, who was committed to making Om Shanti Om the ‘biggest movie of the year’, and was willing to do whatever it takes. In a chat with Siddharth Kannan, Shreyas recalled the superstar’s marketing acumen, and narrated anecdotes about how Shah Rukh would come up with new ideas to promote the movie at odd hours of the day and night, and just before the London premiere. “The way he promoted the movie was a huge learning experience for me,” Shreyas said.

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He explained, “We were sitting in a washroom together in a London hotel room. Deepika was giving an interview outside. And the premiere was in the evening. And Shah Rukh was still coming up with ideas. He said, ‘You and I will dance on the red carpet and attract as many people as possible’. He never takes his stardom for granted. Of course people will come for his premiere, but he wanted to fight till the last minute to attract as many people as he could. Everything that he did during the course of those promotions was phenomenal. He was sitting on the pot, I was sitting on the tub. We were waiting for Deepika’s interview to get over.”

Recalling another anecdote, Shreyas said that the previous night, when he was getting ready to turn in, he heard a knock on the door of his hotel room. Expecting that it would be room service with a bottle of water, he opened the door, but to his surprise, it was Shah Rukh. “Baahar hi khade rakhega (Won’t you invite me inside)?” Shah Rukh asked him, after Shreyas took a moment to get his bearings. And then, Shah Rukh proceeded to unroll a game plan for the next day’s marketing strategies. “He had the entire chart, from when we’d have breakfast to when we’d leave for the press conference. Shah Rukh Khan was doing that at 11 in the night for his film, in London. Someone from his PR team could’ve explained this, but he did it himself,” Shreyas said.

“The best part about him was that he isn’t insecure as an actor. He doesn’t mind giving his co-stars the good punches. He knows who he is, and what he is capable of. He doesn’t care if you steal the limelight from him, or land a few extra punches,” Shreyas said. He also recalled what Shah Rukh told him after the first day of the shoot. “Shreyas, I had a lot of fun after a long time. I went home and told Gauri how much fun I had with you,” Shah Rukh told him. Om Shanti Om was indeed the biggest Bollywood film of 2007, and also the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time up till then, making over Rs 150 crore worldwide.

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