Actor Divya Dutta recalled her interactions with superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who swept her off her feet each time they met with his charm. In an interview, Divya narrated the story of how she showed up on the set of Dil Se one day, to ask Shah Rukh if she could be a part of it. She also recalled the very filmy first meeting that she had with Shah Rukh, who bumped into her one day, sending the stack of photos that she was holding tumbling to the floor. To her surprise, Shah Rukh knew her by name even though she hadn’t done anything at all back then. He’d seen her name on a list of contenders, and had remembered it.
In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, she said that she is always struck by how generous Shah Rukh and stars of his stature often are, and said that this is probably what sets them apart from the rest. Recalling the Dil Se story, she said, “I wanted to do the film, and Shah Rukh and I had the same manager at that time. He suggested that I show up on set and ask him to get Mani Ratnam’s number. I didn’t have a mobile phone then, so I landed up at Connaught Place exactly when I was told to, and watched from the side as they filmed a a chase scene. Thousands of people had gathered to get a glimpse of Shah Rukh, there wasn’t an inch of space to stand on…”
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Divya said that because of the crowd, she figured that there was no chance of a meeting. But just as she was about to leave, someone came and escorted her through the crowd towards a parked car. This was Shah Rukh’s makeshift vanity van. “He opened the door for me and held my hand… Such a ladies’ man he is. He asked how he could help, and I told him that I really want to do the film. He asked if I’d like some coffee, and told me that he would convey my message to Mani Ratnam. ‘That’s all I can do,’ he said. The crowd was right outside, screaming his name, rocking the car…”
Divya did get to meet Mani Ratnam, who told her that he wouldn’t be able to cast her in the movie because she looks similar to Manisha Koirala. Divya said that she next met Shah Rukh when they worked together on the film Veer-Zaara, and he went out of his way to help her understand camera angles. “I’m not going to be there on every set, you have to learn to look after yourself,” he told her. In the same interview, she said that she was worried she’d be typecast as the hero’s sister after starring in Veer-Zaara. “I was worried I would be stereotyped as the best friend of all heroines in the industry. There is a herd mentality in our industry. Everyone runs after the one who looks good and leaves the rest behind,” she said.
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