Dalip Tahil with Shah Rukh Khan in a still from Baazigar. (Courtesy: AmyStone)
Shah Rukh Khan's Jawanis making all the right noises. The film, directed by Atlee, also stars Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi. From people dancing to dhol beats to dressing up like SRK's character in the film, the Jawan effect is ruling the nation and how. Now, veteran actor Dalip Tahil, who shared the screen space with Shah Rukh Khan in the hit 1993 film Baazigar, has opened up about the time when he met an SRK fan. The actor, who played the iconic antagonist Madan Chopra, revealed that the fan wanted to know why he beat SRK so badly in Baazigar?
Dalip Tahil, in a podcast episode of Untriggered With Aminjaz, said, “It's sort of strange because it is a compliment that they actually don't like you because the audience associates you with the character. I did it so well that so and so hates my guts. And it happened to me.”
The Made In Heaven star talked about his encounter with a female fan of SRK at London airport. While detailing the incident, he confessed that at that time he felt really “terrible”. Dalip Tahil added, “At Heathrow Airport in London, I was just about to go to the boarding place. And this girl came to me and she said, ‘Why did you beat Shah Rukh Khan so much? Why did you?' She was clearly and totally besotted with Shah Rukh. And the way she said it to me, I began to feel really terrible.”
Dalip Tahil also spoke about how a role can have a deep impact on people's minds. “So I said, ‘Well, he hit me as well.' She said, ‘That doesn't matter. You're the bad guy. He's going to hit you. But why did you do this to him?' I mean, it has a deep impact on people's minds, particularly people who are vulnerable”, he said.”
Helmed by Abbas Mastan, Baazigar was one of the biggest blockbusters of the 90s. Apart from Dalip Tahil and Shah Rukh Khan, the movie featured Shilpa Shetty, Kajol, and Johny Lever in prominent roles.