Superstar Salman Khan on Saturday gave a shout out to his superstar friend Shah Rukh Khan at the 22nd edition of the IIFA Awards as the latter gears up to return to the big screen after a gap of five years.

Shah Rukh, whose last release was Anand L Rai's Zero in 2018, will be seen next year in the much-awaited actioners Pathaan and Jawan.

During the award ceremony, held at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi's Yas Island, IIFA hosts Ritesh Deshmukh and Maniesh Paul asked celebrities seated in the audience a question -- "Who is behind Salman?"

The superstar was also hosting the ceremony with the duo.

Actor Kriti Sanon said "the audience", whereas singers Yo Yo Honey Singh and Guru Randhawa said "angels".

Salman, who was sitting in the audience, then said, "Mere peeche sirf ek aadmi hai, woh hai Shah Rukh Khan (There's only one man behind me and that is Shah Rukh Khan)".

The actor explained his joke and said the wall of Shah Rukh's bungalow Mannat is right behind his apartment, Galaxy in Bandra.

"But if you look at it from the other side, the Worli area side, his house is far ahead".

Salman then said, referring to Shah Rukh's upcoming film line-up, "Humara 'Pathaan', humara 'Jawan' tayar hai" (Our 'Pathaan', our 'Jawan' is ready).

Shah Rukh's Pathaan, backed by Yash Raj Films, is directed by War helmer Siddharth Anand.

Also featuring Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, the film will release on January 25, 2023.

For Jawan, Shah Rukh is collaborating with Tamil filmmaker Atlee, known for movies like Raja Rani, Their, Mersal and Bigil. The movie will land in theatres on June 2, 2023.

Apart from these films, Shah Rukh will also be seen in Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki, co-starring Taapsee Pannu and set for release on December 22, 2023.

Both Shah Rukh and Salman will be seen making special appearances in each other's films - Pathaan and Tiger 3 - respectively.

The IIFA Awards are being held at the Etihad Arena, part of Yas Bay Waterfront on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), and Miral.