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In the early days of his career, it was often reported that both the media and the broader film industry were hostile towards Shah Rukh Khan. This was largely due to his status as an outsider and his rapidly growing popularity, which began to challenge the established order. During that time, many media outlets published false or sensationalised stories about him. Recalling one such incident, Shah Rukh Khan shared a startling, yet at times humorous, anecdote during an interview at THiNK 2012. He described how a fabricated story in a film magazine spiraled out of control, eventually leading to his arrest.
He recalled that the entire episode started after a magazine wrote a story about his alleged affair with a female actor. He had just gotten married at the time and found this entire thing to be extremely distasteful. “She (Gauri) was so worried about what I’d be doing, what supposedly film stars do apart from acting — and then this whole thing came up. And it wasn’t true at all. So I called up the lady (journalist) and asked, ‘Why have you written this?’ She said, ‘But Shah Rukh, it’s a joke.’ But I said, ‘It’s not funny. Do you hear me laughing?’ And I wasn’t actually saying it like that way I’m telling you now. I was more like the Delhi guy in me, where it was like: ‘Tujhe hansi aa rahi hai? Main hass raha hoon?’ [You’re laughing? Do I look like I’m laughing?]”
He went on to describe how things spiralled out of control: And I said, ‘Tum wahin ruko, main aata hoon, dekhta hoon tumko’ [You stay right there, I’m coming to see you], and I went there. I fought, I beat up people, I did really nasty stuff, which, naturally, Delhiites do. They don’t know that in other parts of the country, this is considered nasty. So I behaved really badly.”
He then recalled going to the magazine’s office with a khukhri (knife) and stormed into the magazine’s office. “I remember that young boy — he was sitting there in his shorts — and the whole office was sitting there. And it was a kukri knife, not even a sword. So I took that and struck between his legs,” he shared and continued, “And I don’t know why, now, when I think of it, and I looked at his parents and said, ‘I’m going to cut him up,’ and they didn’t understand anything.”
Shah Rukh then recalled that he was called by the cops shortly afterwards, and was arrested. “They took me after 6 o’clock, so that I couldn’t get bail.” In the lock-up, SRK was told he had the right to make one phone call, and he called up the same guy. “That’s when I realised I’m cut out to be a Hindi film hero.” Instead of calling a lawyer or loved one, he rang the journalist responsible for the story and warned him: “Ab toh main jail bhi chala gaya hoon, aur ab nikal ke aaunga aur kaat ke hi jaunga.” (Now that I’ve gone to jail, when I get out, I’ll slash you for sure.)
Shah Rukh credited Nana Patekar for getting him bailed out. “Nana Patekar got me out of jail, finally, and he was very sweet. On weekends, there’s an evening court that grants bail or something. I tried to be decent, and I have kind of changed now.”
Senior journalist Pooja Samant also recalled an early interaction with Shah Rukh Khan, where the actor was visibly upset with a magazine she was associated with. According to her, he had a massive argument with the editor over negative coverage.
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