This director made tea for Shah Rukh Khan in 1994, later played superstar's father in flop film: 'Maine bahut ghatiya...'

Famous actor-director Tigmanshu Dhulia has made critically acclaimed films like Paan Singh Tomar, Sahab Biwi Aur Gansgter, and Haasil among others. He recently shared an interesting memory from 1994 when he was working as an assistant to filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and served tea to the superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Talking to ANI, Dhulia recalled, "Shekhar ji, during that time, after doing Bandit Queen, stayed in Mumbai for about one and a half to two years before moving on to international projects. Many films were started but later shelved. One of them was Maut Se Jo Darte Nahin with Shah Rukh, Naseer Bhai (Naseeruddin Shah), and Sunil Shetty."

Dhulia went on to describe how he ended up making tea for the Swades actor during that time while they were working on the script at Kapur’s flat, where Khan had also visited. "Toh humne script likhna shuru kiya. Shah Rukh Shekhar ji ke flat mein bhi aaye the. Mujhe yaad hai, maine Shah Rukh ko chai banake pilayi thi. Microwave mein banayi thi, mujhe aata bhi nahi tha ki microwave kaise chalta hai. Shekhar ji ne kaha, 'Jaa yaar, chai bana de.' Pehli baar maine dekha tha ki microwave kaisa hota hai. Yeh main aapko 94 ki baat bata raha hoon. Phir bhi mujhe lagta hai ki maine Shah Rukh ko bohot ghatiya chai banake pilayi hogi", the director said.

As an actor, Tigmanshu is best known for playing the negative role of Ramadhir Singh in Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur. He became Shah Rukh Khan's on-screen father in Zero. The 2018 romantic drama, directed by Aanand L Rai, also starred Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif in the leading roles with Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, R Madhavan, and Abhay Deol in supporting cast.

With Shah Rukh Khan playing a dwarf in Zero, the film failed to connect to the audiences and critics. Made in Rs 200 crore, the film failed to even recover its budget and earned Rs 90 crore net in India and Rs 190 crore gross worldwide. Shah Rukh Khan took a break after Zero's failure and made a powerful comeback with Pathaan, Jawan, and Dunki in 2023.