Sidharth Malhotra says he 'couldn't speak at all' as he recalls first meeting with Shah Rukh Khan on My Name is Khan set

Actor Sidharth Malhotra recalled his first experience meeting with Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of My Name is Khan as an assistant director. He shared that he couldn't speak at all with the senior actor but Shah Rukh later put him at ease.

Before debuting as an actor in Karan Johar's Student Of The Year (2012) with Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, Sidharth Malhotra worked as an assistant director on Karan's My Name Is Khan (2010). He and Varun worked on the Dharma Productions set before being launched by the banner themselves. The actor recalled, in a new interview, his interactions with Shah Rukh Khan on My Name Is Khan sets. The senior actor even gave him a few tips as he knew Sidharth wanted to be an actor.

Sidharth Malhotra worked on the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer My Name Is Khan (2010) as an assistant director.

When Sidharth first came to Mumbai as a 21-year-old, he shared that his parents weren't sure anyone would cast him in a film. He did manage to land a film but that never got made. Sidharth walked out of that project when it changed directors, telling them that he didn't believe in the project anymore. Later, he switched to being an assistant director as he could pick up and learn on an actual film set, never having gone to film school.

It was a wise decision as he got to interact with an idol of his. In a new interview on Netflix India's YouTube channel, Sidharth told actor-comedian Zakir Khan about working with Shah Rukh Khan in Los Angeles on the first day of the shoot. He recalled, “I had rehearsed for the clap so I wouldn't fumble in front of him. He was very sweet. His warmth is quite apparent. It might be because of his upbringing. He makes everyone around him comfortable. On the first day, I couldn't speak at all.”

Later, working on a scene, Shah Rukh even started to give him some advice. Sidharth shared, "Only Shah Rukh sir and I were at that location. It was somewhere on a road. He suddenly started talking to me, 'You know you should always first come and see if you can use anything on location as a prop.' I thought, 'There's just two of us here, who's he talking to?' Because he knew that I wanted to be an actor. So very sweetly, he was telling me, 'You have to see if you can use anything.' He's very sharp that way. He creates many things on the spot. From there, my respect and my love for him grew even more."

Sidharth's latest film Mission Majnu, with co-star Rashmika Mandanna, premiered on Netflix on January 20. He will also be seen in the action thriller Yodha in July 2023 with Disha Patani and Raashii Khanna.