When Rajat Sharma Was Told Inviting Shah Rukh Khan On 'Aap Ki Adalat' Would Make Show's Stature Fall
Rajat Sharma shared how deeply Shah Rukh admired Rajesh Khanna, aspiring to reach similar levels of stardom from the beginning of his career.
Rajat Sharma, the renowned journalist popularly known for his show 'Aap Ki Adalat', recently took a walk down memory lane, reminiscing about how SRK charmed him during their very first meeting with just four lines of conversation. He also shared how deeply Shah Rukh admired Rajesh Khanna, aspiring to reach similar levels of stardom from the beginning of his career.
Rajat Sharma shares thoughts about Shah Rukh Khan
“Once, I was at the airport, and Shah Rukh was there as well. This was after the release of Baazigar. He came up to me and said, ‘Sir, I know you,’ and I replied, ‘I also know you.’ Until then, the only film star who had appeared on Aap Ki Adalat was Rajesh Khanna. SRK then told me, ‘Sir, but I hate you. Mein nafarat karata hoon aapse.’ I was shocked and asked why.
He said that when the woman cleaning the floor came near me, she said, ‘Sharma saab, could you please move?’ but when she went near him, she said, ‘Ey Shah Rukh, move.’ He asked, ‘What should I do, sir? Should I wear glasses or roam around with a computer (to get that much respect)?’ He was a charmer and won my heart in just four sentences,” Sharma recalled during a conversation with ANI.
Rajat Sharma further shared that they ended up talking throughout 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.”
When Shah Rukh Khan bought Rajesh Khanna's car
Sharma also remembered how, as they were leaving 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, yet he insisted.”
When Shah Rukh appeared on Aap Ki Adalat
A month later, while planning an Aap Ki Adalat episode 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 that it would undermine the show’s stature. “So far, we’ve brought only the biggest superstar Rajesh Khanna, and now by bringing this guy (SRK), you’ll 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.’ Eighteen years later, he returned to the show, and as I was about to ask my first question, he stopped me and told the audience, ‘My first ever 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,” Sharma concluded.
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