The gentleman actor: Shah Rukh Khan and chivalry  

When my friend Celina Jaitley turned a year older on November 24, I remembered fellow-Scorpion Shah Rukh Khan’s cute remark on Celina.

We were sitting in Shah Rukh’s van in Film City. He was shooting for Farah Khan’s Main Hoon Na.

I didn’t have lunch with Shah Rukh, although he insisted. I was invited for lunch with Akshay and Twinkle. Shah Rukh kept teasing me with, ‘Come on, what will they feed you? They will probably starve you,’ etc etc.

But a commitment is a commitment. So, although I was famished, I stoutly desisted.Shah Rukh chatted about everything on this earth with such effortless fluency. He is a rare example of a fast thinker whose words match the speed of his thoughts.

During the conversation he spoke about Celina in connection with the physiotherapy that he was undergoing. Apparently, Celina too was undergoing physiotherapy in the same hospital. And Shah Rukh would bump into her.

“She is so petite in real life…a mere child… She fills up the screen and looks much bigger than she is in real life,” he said with such fondness. It showed the respect he has for women.

Anyone who has seen him with his wife Gauri would vouch for his inherently chivalrous nature. I remember the first time he had introduced me to his wife. We were sitting together in his spotless-white living room at Mannat .When Gauri walked in, Shah Rukh got up from his seat with me. Familiarity has definitely not bred anything but beautiful children in this marriage.

Shah Rukh is the kind of guy who opens doors for ladies and makes sure they are comfortable at a party

Some years ago, Shah Rukh (by the way he doesn’t like being addressed as SRK) proclaimed that his name would appear after his leading ladies’ names in the credit titles of all his films. Shah Rukh has stuck to that decision. When he makes up his mind, nothing changes it.

I can’t say everyone in the industry is as gallant in his conduct towards women as Shah Rukh Khan. To be fair I’ve seen really obnoxious behavior in front of my eyes with one superstar hero misbehaving with a prominent leading lady to the extent that it qualified as certifiable sexual harassment.

Simi Garewal once told me about this star-son, the spoilt rich heir of a very big star’s family who thinks he is a master -actor although no one wants to sign him, who had his feet up on the table when she walked in. He kept his feet where they were. He should try placing them on the ground once in a while.