When Shah Rukh Khan told Rajat Sharma he ‘hated’ him, revealed he bought Rajesh Khanna’s car and hired his driver

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Rajat Sharma revealed that they ended up talking for the entire flight and by the time they landed, he had become a fan of Shah Rukh Khan. “He then asked me, ‘Sir, have you ever hung upside down?’ I was like, ‘Why should I?’ He replied, ‘I can hang upside down on a tree for three hours and still I am ‘Ey Shah Rukh’ and you are ‘Sharma saab’. He asked me to try hanging upside down at times.”

Sharma also recalled how, as they were exiting the airport, SRK casually invited him to visit a movie set and under what he described as a kind of spell, Sharma immediately agreed. “Shah Rukh had a red-coloured car back then. He said, ‘This car belonged to Rajesh Khanna and I bought it. The driver sitting behind, he worked for Rajesh Khanna and I hired him as well. Now, just like you brought Rajesh Khanna on Aap Ki Adalat, you should bring Shah Rukh Khan too.’ I told him but he had just done one or two films, but he insisted.”

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A month later, while planning an Aap Ki Adalat schedule in Mumbai featuring Bal Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Gulshan Kumar, Rajat Sharma suggested including the “charmer” Shah Rukh Khan as a guest. His team initially resisted, arguing it would dilute the show’s stature. “So far we have brought only the biggest superstar Rajesh Khanna and now by bringing this guy (SRK), you will make our stature fall,” they told him. But Sharma was confident in Shah Rukh’s potential and the episode turned out to be a huge success.

“He came out with flying colours. He later told me, ‘If 5,000 people loved me earlier (before appearing on the show), now 5 lakh people do.’ 18 years later, he reappeared on the show and as I was about to ask my first question, he stopped me and told the audience, ‘My first every big interview was on Aap Ki Adalat and I want to thank you for making me such a big star.’ That’s his greatness. Shah Rukh would have become a star either way, he had the potential in him. But these words showed his large heartedness,” he added.