10 years of Om Shanti Om: What happened when Shah Rukh Khan got late on the first day of shoot

The film Om Shanti Om completes 10 years of its release on November 9. Actor Shreyas Talpade, who played the role of SRK’s best friend in the film, goes down memory lane and recalls his experience of working on the film.

The film Om Shanti Om was a trendsetter — from the dialogues (Remember Ek Chutki Sindoor?), to the music (chartbusters such as Dard E Disco and Ajab Si), everything was a big hit. Starring Shah Rukh Khan and debutante Deepika Padukone in the lead, the film was seen as a spoof on Bollywood itself, and people absolutely loved it.

Shah Rukh Khan and Shreyas Talpade in a still from the film Om Shanti Om (2007).

This revenge-cum-reincarnation film, directed by Farah Khan, had actor Shreyas Talpade playing the role of Om’s (played by Shah Rukh) best friend, Pappu Master, who always encourages him to pursue his dream of becoming a big movie star. Remind Shreyas about the film completing 10 years, and he reveals how he landed the role. “Iqbal (2005) had released, and I and Nagesh (Kukunoor, director of Iqbal) had wrapped up Dor. I and Farah used to go to the same gym, and I had skipped a day. The next day, someone told me that Farah had left her number for me. I called her up, and she told me she was making a film, and whether I would like a narration. It turned out to be Om Shanti Om.”

Shreyas also goes on to relate what transpired on the first day of shooting, as Shah Rukh got late. “The first scene we had to shoot for was the scene where I tell Om ‘Tu hero banega’. We had been given a call time of 8.30 in the morning, and Shah Rukh got late. He came and apologised to everyone, even though we were technically nobody, for being 45 minutes late. Farah, too, said, ‘Kya Shah Rukh, teri khud ki production hai (you are the producer of the film) and you yourself are late?!” He politely said to us, ‘I am sorry, but you all please come by 10am tomorrow because I can’t come by 9 am.’ We all just cracked up!” Shreyas says.

The film went on to have its world premiere at Leicester Square. Shreyas tells us the incredible experience the cast had there. “The interviews were happening on the red carpet. I and Shah Rukh were waiting in the loo for our turn. So he said, ‘Yahaan pe Tom Cruise ki film ka bhi premiere hua tha. We need to make sure ki apni film ke liye bhi log aayein. Record tod de’ and stuff like that. He proposed that we should dance on the red carpet to our film’s songs to attract enough people. I got charged up and agreed,” the 41-year-old recalls.

But what happened next left Shreyas awestruck. “I, Arjun (Rampal, the antagonist in the film) and Deepika reached and were waiting for SRK. There must have been only 20-30 people then. But the moment SRK’s car came, from nowhere a huge crowd started gathering. It took him an hour to complete the distance of 50 metres from the red carpet to the theatre door, because the press and people went crazy seeing him. He was so humble to think that not many people would turn up for the premiere!” he says.

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