Shah Rukh Khan wasn’t good at action, dance in early days; I was more famous than him during Baazigar: Johnny Lever

Johnny Lever said that during his early days, Shah Rukh Khan wasn't particularly good at dancing and action but he worked hard and honed his craft.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | February 15, 2024 02:46 PM IST

3 min read

Shah Rukh Khan was yet to become a star when he was cast in Baazigar.

Shah Rukh Khan was yet to become a star when he was cast in Abbas Mustan’s Baazigar. In a recent interview, Johnny Lever, who was also a part of that film, recalled his memories of working with Shah Rukh through the 1990s and shared that during the shoot of Baazigar, he was way more popular than Shah Rukh. He also recalled the time when a woman almost fainted as she saw Shah Rukh practicing basketball during the shoot of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

Recalling the experience of Baazigar, Johnny told YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, “We started working together in Baazigar back in 1991. He had done Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and a few other films by then but I was more famous than him at that time. Even during the shoot, more people knew me. I was a star back then, Shah Rukh was upcoming. We had great understanding.” Johnny then added, “I have never seen anyone as hardworking as him, so hardworking.”

The veteran actor shared back in those days, Shah Rukh was not really good in performing action sequences and dance but he worked hard and made sure that he performed them well enough. “Shah Rukh Khan was not good at fight sequences, he was not good at dance also,” he said and later added, “He made himself what he is by working hard. He became good at fights and dance.”

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Johnny recalled that Shah Rukh had an enigmatic personality and women would just crazy for him. He shared that when they went for the premiere of Yes Boss to London, he saw that women were going crazy for him but their partners were jealous of Shah Rukh. “Men were jealous of him, they would throw things at him because their partners were in love with Shah Rukh. But he was completely focused on his work,” he recalled.

Johnny shared that during the shoot of Badshah, there were some beautiful women who were cast as air hostesses and all they wanted was a photograph with Shah Rukh, but the actor was fully immersed in his work. “Shah Rukh was rehearsing something. Those women asked for a photo. I asked him to take a photo with them. He went, clicked a picture and was focused on his rehearsal again,” he recalled. Johnny shared that when his friend’s sister came to visit him on the set of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, she was so taken by SRK’s aura that she almost fainted.

Johnny and Shah Rukh worked together in many films in the 1990s including Karan Arjun, Badshah, Baazigar, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham among many others.

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