The death of veteran actor Nana Patekar has left many in the Hindi film industry heartbroken. Among them is Shah Rukh Khan, who starred alongside Nana in the 1992 film Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman early in his career. Following Nana’s death, an old video of Shah Rukh has been doing the rounds on social media, in which he recalls how the late actor helped him get out of jail when he was new to the film industry.
When Shah Rukh Khan threatened a journalist
In the video, recorded at Tehelka’s Think 2012 event, Shah Rukh spoke about how he landed in jail in the early 1990s. The actor said he was new to Mumbai and the film industry at the time and had recently married Gauri Khan. A magazine had published an article hinting at an affair between Shah Rukh and a co-star, leaving Gauri worried and the actor furious.
Angry over the article, Shah Rukh decided to confront the journalist and went to her house carrying a ceremonial sword gifted to him by his father-in-law, who was an Army officer.
Admitting that his actions were misguided, he said, “I behaved very badly. I was jailed. My father-in-law had given me a sword, as they do in Punjabi weddings. I carried that sword to that journalist’s house. My father-in-law, who is an army officer, said, ‘Son, you have to protect my daughter’. Nobody was saying anything to his daughter but I thought this is a good weapon, sanctioned by the Indian Army.”
‘Nana Patekar got me out of jail’
Shah Rukh said he had threatened people at the journalist’s house and injured a young man’s legs. Later, while he was shooting for Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, the police arrived on set and took him into custody. Since it was already past 6 pm, he could not get bail immediately. He revealed that Nana Patekar eventually helped him get out of jail.
He said, “Nana Patekar got me out of jail, finally, and he was very sweet. On a weekend, there’s an evening court that gives you bail or something. I tried to be decent, and I have kind of changed now.”
When Nana Patekar spoke fondly of Shah Rukh Khan
In a 2024 interview with The Lallantop, Nana had also spoken warmly about Shah Rukh. He praised the superstar for remaining the same person despite achieving immense success.
He had said, “Aaj bhi bohot pyaar se milta hai. Log bhul jaate hai, woh bhula nahi. Mujhe woh baccha accha lagta hai (He meets me with a lot of love till date. People forget but he hasn’t forgotten me).”
After Nana’s death, Shah Rukh had shared a long personal note on social media remembering the late actor.