Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan established himself as the King of Bollywood with his performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2002 magnum opus, Devdas, but he has now revealed that many of his seniors in the industry had advised him against doing the film.
SRK appeared on the Locarno Meets podcast wherein he shared that he did the film because he thought his mother would appreciate it from heaven. "I grew up watching Devdas. My mom, dad, the entire generation already loved Devdas because there were several versions of the film that were already made, and were hits. Some of the greatest artists of our country — Dilip Kumar, KL Saigal, Uttam Kumar have played the character, and I don't think mine is so brilliant. And despite a lot of senior actors telling me not to do it, I wanted to do it so that I could say, 'Look mom, I did Devdas that you used to watch'," SRK shared.
He went on to say, "My parents had passed away by the time I joined films, both of them were not alive. I don't know, for some reason, I always felt I'll make films which are very big, so that my mom and dad can see them from heaven. I still think my mom's a star, and it works. I even know the star she is. So I just felt that if I made Devdas, she would really like it. She would appreciate it."
Here’s Why Shah Rukh Khan Did NOT Attend Close Friend Baba Siddique’s Funeral
Shah Rukh also revealed how he resorted to 'method acting' for Devdas, in which his character was a chronic alcoholic. He said that while the method helped him to play the character on screen, it got him the habit of drinking even after the film's shoot was over. "It might have helped, but I started drinking after the film and that’s one downside to it," he said.
Speaking about his character, Devdas, SRK said that while he did find him a "loser" on paper, he did not want the audience to feel so. "I didn’t want you to feel love for him, but I didn’t want you to hate him. Nor did I want you to like him for being an alcoholic who runs away from every girl that he falls in love with. I just wanted him to appear indescribable," he stated.
Shah Rukh Khan Among Top 10 ‘Most Handsome Actors’ In The World; Check Other Stars In The List
Devdas was a massive hit and a turning point in SRK's career when it released in 2002. The film also starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Paro and Madhuri Dixit as Chandramukhi. Besides, Jackie Shroff, Kirron Kher, Tiku Talsania and others played key roles in the film.