‘At the age of 10, Shahrukh used to deliver samosas to us in NSD, his father or uncle used to run the canteen’, Pankaj Kapoor remembered…

Read Desk. Shahrukh’s journey from a boy delivering samosas in the National School of Drama (NSD) to rising to fame and building his own empire has been spectacular. Veteran actor Pankaj Kapoor remembered the 70s when he was a student in NSD, he remembers Shahrukh’s childhood face.

In an interview on Kindle Cast’s YouTube channel, Kapoor said, “The samosas were delivered by none other than Shahrukh Khan. At that time he was a small 10-year-old child.” He further added, “I think his uncle or father ran the canteen at that time.” Years later, fate brought the two together professionally, when Pankaj worked with Shahrukh in Rajiv Mehra’s 1995 action thriller Ram Jaane.

His father Mir Taj Mohammad Khan ran a restaurant in Delhi, and he owned the famous restaurant named ‘Khatir’ in Safdarjung. The superstar has also told earlier that he spent a lot of his childhood time in NSD. Since his sister Shehnaz Lalarukh Khan used to attend classes there, Shahrukh would often wait for her after school and then both of them would go home together.

Apart from the restaurant, he also managed the mess (canteen) at NSD, where he reportedly spent most of his time. After his father’s death in 1981, Shah Rukh’s mother Latif Fatima Khan took over the family business until her death in 1990.

Shahrukh told ‘The Times of India’ in 2014, “I was a very sweet child and my entire childhood was spent in the lap of India’s best actors and hanging out with them.”

Growing up in this institutional environment gave him the opportunity to closely observe and understand some of the most respected names in Indian theatre, such as Pankaj Kapoor, Raghubir Yadav, Raj Babbar, Nadira Babbar, Naseeruddin Shah, Rohini Hattangadi and Anupam Kher. Many of these actors later worked with him in films also.

Talking about their influence on his life, Shah Rukh said, “I have watched all their plays and rehearsals for months. It was by watching these actors that I grew up and developed the desire to become an actor. I may not be able to meet them now, but I have learned how to act from them.”

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