Zayed Khan recalls having Aishwarya Rai's picture in his locker room: ‘I used to think this woman is…’

Zayed Khan fondly recalls working with Aishwarya Rai in Shabd, praising her grace and professionalism.

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai has not only mesmerised audiences but also left a lasting impression on her co-stars with her beauty and grace. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, actor Zayed Khan, who shared screen space with her in the film Shabd, fondly recalled the experience of romancing her on-screen and admitted to being a fan ever since she won the Miss World title. (Also Read: Zayed Khan recalls family's financial crisis: ‘Home was mortgaged, we sold our cars’)

Zayed Khan on working with Aishwarya Rai in Shabd.

Zayed Khan says Shabd was ahead of its time

Zayed Khan reflected on his film choices, noting that many of his projects were ahead of their time due to his desire to take on out-of-the-box roles. Speaking about Shabd, he said it was a compelling story, a slice-of-life narrative released at a time when audiences weren’t quite ready for such themes. He added that viewers who revisit the film today often react by saying, “Oh my God, that’s scary.”

Zayed Khan on working with Aishwarya Rai

He recalled working with Aishwarya in the film and said, “Aish was such a professional and beautiful lady. I was a fan of Aish when she became Miss World. I used to have a picture of her in my locker room. I used to think, ‘This woman is a really gorgeous woman.’ So when I heard the script and they said that Aish is in the film, I was like, ‘Woah, where do I sign?’ I had a beautiful experience working with her. She is such a wonderful co-star to be with because she really knows how to play with you.”

"Sometimes you just see actors take so much time and then come, and there’ll be drama. The actual work suffers while everything else is taken care of. With Aish, I thought it would be so difficult to get over my fan moment, but she just came in and said, ‘Hi, do you want to do rehearsals together?’ I was like, this is too cool. She was a natural filter. God bless her," he added.

About Shabd

Produced by Pritish Nandy Communications and directed by Leena Yadav, Shabd stars Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai and Zayed Khan in lead roles. Sanjay plays a reclusive, award-winning writer suffering from creative block, who uses his wife (played by Aishwarya) as inspiration for his new novel by asking her to get close to another man (Zayed). As fiction begins to blur with reality, the story takes a darker turn. Shabd was praised for its unique concept and performances, especially Aishwarya's layered portrayal, but it failed to perform well at the box office.