Girls would go crazy for Shah Rukh Khan when we were shooting Fauji, actor Atul Shrivastava recalls predicting SRK’s stardom: ‘He is simple, genuine’

Atul shared that Shah Rukh Khan had great attraction to him. Justifying his comment, Atul recalled the time when they were shooting at Rajputana Rifle. He said, “Shah Rukh Khan was a very simple man. We were shooting in the Rajputana Rifle. A lot of army officer’s family, kids, teenagers had gathered there. We were still in the shooting stage, telecast of the show hadn’t started yet. Still, people went crazy after watching the shoot. There was frenzy among audience for Shah Rukh Khan. It was that day when I thought to myself, ‘This man will go too far in his career.’

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Atul didn’t just say this to himself but also to his friends present there. He shared, “A guy in our team claimed to know palmistry, he would often read people’s palm. At one such moment, I said, ‘I am not into palm reading and all, but I predict it today that SRK will become a huge star.”

Atul shared he was very confident about his prediction after seeing the kind of attraction and impact Shah Rukh Khan had on his audience even at the shooting stage. “Girls, and kids were going all crazy for him even before the telecast. There must have been something about him”, said Atul.

Atul and Shah Rukh Khan then teamed up again in 2008, almost two decades later. They were shooting for the film, Bhootnath. However, Shah Rukh Khan failed to recognise Atul.

“He didn’t recognise me, but when he spoke to me, he said, ‘I was having a strong feeling that I have seen you before.’ He is very genuine and simple guy. Soon after he learnt about me, he went around like a kid and shared the story with everyone. I really liked it about him. I even told him that ‘my prayers are to credit for your success’. And he happily accepted.”

Sharing his work experience with the star, Atul said, “He is very nice man, he gives confidence to his co-stars.”