While his fans across the gobe look up to him, Shah Rukh Khan has previously expressed in several of his interviews that he has always looked up to Amitabh Bachchan for inspiration and encouragement. Shah Rukh has expressed his affection and gratitude to Big B on a number of occasions and events.
We recently stumbled across an old video from a leading magazine's awards function, in which Shah Rukh Khan paid his tribute to Amitabh Bachchan. Combining his wit and humour with his immense awe and admiration for Amitabh Bachchan, SRK shared how he wouldn't have studied and been a good student had it not been for Amitabh Bachchan and his movies.
Shah Rukh began by saying that those who're great, remain blissfully unaware of the fact that their greatness, their work, their name, their small insignificant gestures have a huge impact somewhere on people who're far far away from them. The actor then goes on to narrate the kind of impact Bachchan had on him since his childhood days.
Here's how Shah Rukh Khan shared the anecdote:
"Main 9-10 saal ka tha aur maine apne maa-baap se kaha ke mujhe Deewaar film dekhni hai, aur jaise maa-baap hote hain studies mein kamzor bachchon ke, toh unhone kaha - agar 95% lekar aaoge toh tum Deewaar film dekh sakte ho. Toh maine bohot padhai ki, lagan se. 95(%) nahi aaye, takreeban 90(%) tak aa gaye aur unhone mujhe Deewaar film dikhayi. Uske baad school mein, college mein, post-graduation mein, main bohot achhi padhai kiya, first-second-third tak aata raha, thoda show-off kar raha hoon (Chuckles). Lekin, Shri Amitabh Bachchan ji ko yeh nahi malum ke main jo thoda bahut padh likh gaya woh unki wajeh se tha.
Phir bada hua, toh maa ka pallu pakad kar unko ek bar bola ki mummy mummy mujhe hero ban na hai. Mummy ne kaha, 'Tumhara kad bohot chhota hai, Shri Amitabh Bachchan ji jaise lambe bano.' Toh bohot latka, bohot jhatka, jal-netri bhi ki, lekin itna lamba nahi ho saka. Toh unke pas gaya aur unko kaha maine ki mummy main toh lamba nahi ho saka, toh maa ne kaha 'Nahi, main unkw ohysical lambe kad ki baat nahi kar rahi hoon. Main unke kaam ke kad ki baat kar rahi hoon. Jab bhi koi kaam karo, jab bhi koi karya karo toh usse aise karo ki kaam ko garv ho, ki tumne usse kiya hai.' Aur woh baat maine apne pally mein baandh li aur Amit ji ko yeh nahi maalum hai ki aaj bhi, jab bhi main koi kaam karta hoon toh yeh sochta hoon ke meri maa ke lafz aur aapki izzat kabhi kam na ho uss kaam ki wajeh se."
That wasn't all. Shah Rukh Khan went on to share how lucky he feels to have had the priviledge to work with Amitabh Bachchan. He added -
"Bade badon ki jurrat nahi hai ke inke sath kaam kar sake, inse mil sake lekin meri khush-kismat-i hai ke main inke sath kaam kar saka. Mohabbatein mein yeh maalum pada ke jis school ke ham lecturer hain, us school ke yeh Principal saab hain. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham mein maalum pada ke jis mohobbat jis pyaar ke ham hero hain, uss hero ke yeh baap hain. Aur aisi himaaqat nahi karunga kisi bhi hero, kisi bhi artist, kisi bhi star ko inse compare karne ki, par sach baat yeh hai, ki jitne bhi star aaye hain, jitne bhi star hain aur jitne bhi star honge, woh aaj bhi Shri Amitabh Bachchan ke saamne Cheeni Kum hain."
SRK concluded his tribute by saying, "So, on behalf of the whole Indian Film Industry, I bow my head in gratefulness and thank him for allowing us to be a small part of history by allowing us to be amidst you sir and breathe the air that you breathe."
Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan have worked together in a number of movies like Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie gham, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Paheli, Veer-Zaara and others. Earlier this year, Bachchan was also seen playing the protagonist along with Taapsee Pannu in Badla, which was produced by Shah Rukh's Red Chillies Entertainment.
