It was in May last year that I received the call from The Perfect Way casting, being asked to audition for a TVC for a certain gaming app. After the usual questions about my availability, I was told that I would be sent a script and would be required to send in a self-tape. Almost immediately after the call, I was sent the script. I opened the script and laughed out. Someone was pranking me, because, of the two characters in the script, one was called SRK. Nah, it couldn’t be the same SRK who reigns over the Hindi film industry and our collective hearts and minds. This chant, S-R-K, over the years has become something of a prayer for fans from every corner of the world. A religion, an emotion unto himself, a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. My fate had brought me an opportunity, the slightest one, to be in the same frame as him. That is of course, if my audition goes well and manages to impress the right people.
I gathered my wits and got into the act of recording the audition. I did the best I could and sent in my tape with almost no hopes. Life has taught me not to get my hopes up, especially on the professional front. The more hopeful one is, the more it hurts when the dreams are shattered. Almost as soon as I was done, I started working towards putting the audition behind me and moving on.
Just under a week had gone by when one night I received a call and heard a magical string of words: “Congratulations, you have been selected for the TVC opposite Shah Rukh Khan!” I thanked the person who had called me and ended the conversation after exchanging a few other necessary details. My mind was almost certain by now that I was being pranked.
My belief came with the arrival of my flight bookings. It was true then, I would be flying to Mumbai, to shoot at the historic Mehboob Studios with the legend himself. I would later find out that this dream came true because of my director, the ever jovial and extremely kind Hemant Bhandari. I had had the honour and privilege of working with him once before on a different TVC and when he was shown my audition video, he recognised me immediately and locked me for this project.
The next couple of nights, till my departure, I was in a trance. I tried to sum up what this meant to me. More importantly, what it meant to the little kid in me who had grown up watching Shah Rukh Khan go from a lanky actor on the Doordarshan show Circus, to the anti-hero who inspired an oxymoronic concoction of hatred, sympathy, love and fear in my young mind, to the hero who taught my generation to believe in love.
More than anything, I had decided that when I do find myself in his presence, I would ask him the one question that I most wanted to ask him. As much as we love the Rajs, Rahuls or Vikram Rathores, why can’t we get more Mohan Bhargavs, Kabir Khans or Dr Jehangir Khans? I would ask him to record a short greeting for my sister (Tina Mukherjee) who happens to be his biggest fan in the world. Little did I know that when the moment did arrive, I would be too spellbound to say or ask anything at all.
A knock on the door
Finally, the day arrived. I entered Mehboob Studios, still struggling to grasp the full extent of my reality. I was shown to my vanity van. I enquired whether Hemant sir had arrived. I met him and we exchanged pleasantries. I thanked him profusely, imagining that the magnitude of the opportunity he had given me was lost on him. He introduced me to the rest of the crew. Post that I reported for my costume trials. Then, the long wait began. I spent the rest of the day in the confines of my van, going through variation after variation of my lines, not wanting to put a foot wrong in front of the Badshah.
Moments from the TVC
Eventually, there was a knock on the door of my vanity van. The chief assistant, incidentally named Rahul, asked me to report to the set. Immediately, my knees turned to jelly. That walk from my van to stage 4 of Mehboob Studios felt like it was the longest one of my life. I could feel a lump in my throat and my heart pounding against my rib cage. It was a rainy day in Mumbai, the production assistants helped us get to the set while accompanying us with umbrellas. As hard as they tried to keep me and my costume dry, I was already sweating buckets underneath it. The directorial team explained the shots, I took my marks and then waited patiently in one corner of the set for Shah Rukh sir.
They say when Titans walked the earth, people could feel their presence from a mile away. They could feel every step they took, they knew when they approached. The same holds true for our King. Suddenly, I sensed a hustle and bustle on the sets. The giant metallic doors to the stage slid open and the instantly recognisable Merc with the number 0555 rolled in. Out of the car stepped the legend, Shah Rukh Khan.
You could see the respect and admiration for the man in the eyes and smiles of each and every person around him. His presence seemed to have fulfilled the purpose of all those on the set. Almost all of us, in whatever department or capacity we were working, when we set out had a common answer when asked about our biggest dream — to one day work with, for, or alongside Shah Rukh Khan. This was the day when that dream came true for all of us.
SRK called me Debu
From this day on, no matter what curveballs life throws our way, no matter how rough the seas get, we’ll have this day and its memories to keep a ray of hope alive in the darkest of times. Immediately, Shah Rukh sir taught me something. My mind went back to an awards function many years earlier that he had hosted. Throughout the night, he was calling people from the films that had been nominated for Best Film up on stage for quick chats. One of Hrithik Roshan’s films was also nominated. When Hrithik went up on stage, Shah Rukh Khan came down from the ceiling, strung up on wires and in full Krrish costume. That is how he conducted his conversation with Hrithik, halfway up in the air. Then Hrithik went back into the audience and SRK pretended that he was stuck, screaming, “Arrey, koi mujhe niche utaaro.” The punchline to his joke was, “I should have asked Duggu to bring me down while he was on stage, he almost did bring me down with his very first film.”
Debopriyo Mukherjee
I remember being amazed by his wit and sense of humour of course, but mostly by his supreme confidence. How secure and absolutely on top of his game must a superstar be while also being humble and grounded to be able to crack a joke like that? Cut back to Mehboob Studios, the legend in front of me behaved almost as if he was oblivious to his legendary status. Mixing and interacting with those on set with absolute and genuine humility, with that incredible smile seemingly fixed on his lips. The kindness with which he treats people is exemplary.
Shah Rukh sir and Hemant sir started discussing the sequence, and in some time, Hemant sir called out to me. Like many here in Calcutta, Hemant sir too calls me Debu. When he introduced me to Shah Rukh sir as Debu, for a split second I pondered whether I should promptly chime in with my full name. Before I could decide, however, Shah Rukh sir extended his hand towards me for a handshake and he introduced himself. “Hello Debu, I am Shah Rukh Khan!” Yeah right, as if I would not have known had he not introduced himself. As for my own name, Shah Rukh Khan called me Debu, from this day on Debu it is then. I am even willing to get an affidavit done.
Finally, the camera rolled and we started shooting. I don’t think I was that nervous even on my first day in front of the camera. Shah Rukh sir soothed my nerves though. For a particular shot, we needed a certain amount of coordination. “Beta aap aisa karo, aap audibly ek sound kar do toh phir main timing samajh paunga.” Imagine that, the King of Kings, speaking to an actor from Bengal with such kindness. Throughout our shoot together, we had several such interactions, the more I saw of him, the more I understood why he is loved by all and sundry. I wish the shoot could go on, but eventually, we had wrapped up our portions. In less than a couple of hours, SRK had left me with memories and lessons worth a lifetime.
I came back to my hotel that night, took a bath, had my dinner and retired for the night. Once my head hit the pillow, I cried. I did not know why, or for what, I still do not know, I just felt overwhelmed. I cried till my tears had dried up and drifted away to the most peaceful sleep of my life. My life had been touched by a miracle that day. That day, a simple boy from Calcutta who started out with high ambitions but was fast forgetting how to dream, met a simple boy from Delhi who had once dared to dream big and the latter reminded the former why we do what we do, why even when the odds are stacked against us, especially then, we need to keep dreaming. Most importantly, sometimes, we need to spread our arms and pretend we have wings. As for learning how to fly, with Dunki around the corner, our next lesson is not far away.
If you had the chance to meet SRK, what is the first thing you would tell him? Tell t2@abp.in
