Siddharth Anand says there's no box office pressure with Shah Rukh Khan's King, doesn't want to ‘pander’ to expectations

Following the success of Pathaan, Shah Rukh Khan has collaborated again with Siddharth Anand in King. Anand emphasises the aim to meet audience expectations.

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan is all set to return to his action-packed avatar with Siddharth Anand’s upcoming film King. This marks their second collaboration after Pathaan, which emerged as a blockbuster in 2023, grossing ₹1,050 crore worldwide.

Siddharth Anand talks about meeting audience expectations with King

Siddharth Anand talks about meeting audience's expectations with King.

In a recent interview with Variety India, Siddharth spoke about working hard on King and addressing the expectations surrounding its box office performance.

When asked whether there was pressure to achieve a certain box office figure with King, Siddharth said, “I wouldn't say there's pressure, but I would say there are expectations. And that comes when you work with a megastar like SRK. So, I'm aware of those expectations. But if I start pandering to them, then it's a mistake; I'll go wrong in my filmmaking. Because if there were a formula for catering, then everyone would be making blockbusters.”

He further spoke about not following a formula and added, “If you start following a success formula, you begin second-guessing what the audience will like. And that will kill you as a filmmaker. We never made Pathaan with that intention or with the dream of achieving the numbers it eventually did. And I think that's where the magic lies. When you start working only with that belief, that is the downfall. We are working hard on King as if it were our first film. We need to pass the test with the audience again. We are working with that intention. We are aware of expectations, but we don't succumb to the pressure.”

Apart from SRK, the film also stars Suhana Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Arshad Warsi, and Jaideep Ahlawat in key roles. The film marks Suhana Khan’s grand theatrical debut. Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and Marflix Pictures, King is scheduled to release in cinemas on 24 December 2026.

During a fan meet, Shah Rukh spoke about his character in King and said, “The character of King is very interesting. Siddharth and Sujoy Ghosh have written it with a lot of love. And it has a lot of evil in it. He’s a killer. He kills people. But for storytelling, it’s very important that heroes like me play different roles: some inspiring, some comic, some romantic. So that’s what I’m trying to do now. I do one big film every one or two years because I also know that making films has become very difficult now. So films should be made carefully, so that I don’t let people down.”