Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan first shared the screen in Rakesh Roshan’s 1995 film Karan Arjun and in a recent interview, Johnny Lever, who was also a part of this film, shared his memories from those days. Johnny said that there was a huge difference between Salman and Shah Rukh’s approach towards performing their scenes and both had a unique way of preparing.
In a chat with YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, Johnny said that Salman would casually give an okay take but they would have to do multiple retakes when they were working with Shah Rukh. “Salman would do his take just like that (clicks his fingers). We would have to do retakes because of Shah Rukh. He would do it over and over again,” he recalled. Johnny said that Shah Rukh would rehearse constantly on the set and even when he came back to the hotel, he wouldn’t stop rehearsing, and for this, “Salman would make fun of him (Shah Rukh).”
When asked about how the two actors are different, the veteran actor described Salman as “moody”, but Shah Rukh was “very serious” about his work. “Salman is moody, he doesn’t worry about anything. Shah Rukh is very serious about his work. Salman would say ‘He’s still on it. I’ll do my bit and leave’. They had that vibe,” he said. Johnny also recalled that Shah Rukh was very detail-oriented and would delve into the tiniest of details of his character. Like here, since the story was about the past lives of two brothers, Shah Rukh would study his character deeply but Salman, on the other hand, was “very casual about it.”
Shah Rukh and Salman later shared screen space in Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The two appeared in cameos in each other’s films Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega, Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, Zero. Recently, the two became a part of the YRF Spy Universe as Shah Rukh joined the franchise with his film Pathaan. Salman appeared in a significant cameo in the film, and a few months later, Shah Rukh too, appeared in Salman’s Tiger 3. There has been speculation that the two might star in a film titled Tiger vs Pathaan but YRF is yet to make any concrete announcements about it.
