Shah Rukh Khan was ‘sportsman of the year, economics topper, basketball captain’ in college, recalls Hansraj junior Anurag Kashyap: ‘He isn’t a superstar for nothing’

Recalling what Shah Rukh was like as a student, Anurag said, “He was the hockey captain, he was the basketball captain, he was the sportsman of the year. He was the economics topper. He was incredible; he isn’t a superstar for nothing.

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In a recent interview, while promoting his new film Nishaanchi, Anurag said that he gets a call from Shah Rukh from time to time. “When he likes something, I get a call. I got a call for Sacred Games and AK vs AK,” he said. In the past, Anurag has also said that Shah Rukh would advise him to not make political statements publicly. He described Shah Rukh as ‘the man with the strongest spine’ in Bollywood after the success of the film Pathaan. “I understand what he teaches, ‘Speak with your work, and don’t talk unnecessarily’. He is who he is and you can see why,” Anurag told mid-day.

Shah Rukh Khan outside St Columba’s School in a still from a documentary titled The Inner World Of Shah Rukh Khan.

Anurag isn’t the only one who has praised Shah Rukh’s talent even as a student. In an interview with Curly Tales, singer Palash Sen, who went to St Columba’s School with SRK, said, “Shah Rukh was my schoolmate, and my mate at all the co-curricular activities. We were into sports, debating, quizzing, everything, we were always together. The one thing he couldn’t do was sing, that I did for him. There was a musical that we did, he had a role in it but he could not sing. I was standing in the wings and I was singing for him. He was one of my closest friends when we were in school.”

Shah Rukh’s other schoolmate, actor-model Rahul Dev, told Connect FM Canada in an interview, “I don’t find it surprising that SRK has become a superstar. There will be no Shah Rukh Khan in the next 1000 years. He took part in various activities in school. He was first in football, hockey, cricket and every game.” Anurag’s new film, Nishaanchi, will be released in theatres on September 19. The movie marks the acting debut of Bal Thackeray’s grandson, Aishwary Thackeray. Shah Rukh, meanwhile, is working on his new film, King.