25 years of Asoka EXCLUSIVE: Shah Rukh Khan invited a common man for breakfast for an ENTIRE week during Jaipur schedule; treated his 17 employees like VIPs: “They were so charged up meeting him that our sales increased by 24%!”

Rajesh Naik was in his early 40s when he got the opportunity of a lifetime – to have breakfast with superstar Shah Rukh Khan, not just for a day, but for an entire week! This extraordinary experience took place on the sets of Asoka (2001) in Jaipur, Rajasthan. As the period drama, co-starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, completed 25 years on October 26, Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Rajesh Naik, now 66, about how a common man landed this enviable opportunity and came away with memories to cherish for a lifetime.

Rajesh Naik began by saying, “I was deputed by the board of directors of Excel Industries Ltd to Jaipur, Rajasthan, to take over the operations. Initially, I was alone in Jaipur. My wife, Bhavna, and son, Hardik, had not joined me yet. Meanwhile, one of my close friends, the late Ravi Indulkar, was Shah Rukh Khan’s personal makeup man. We used to call him Ravi Dada. Shah Rukh also called him the same. Ravi Dada was aware that I had shifted from Mumbai to Jaipur. He called me one day at 8:45 in the morning and told me, ‘We are in your city and Sahab bhi hai’. By Sahab, he meant Shah Rukh. I asked him the purpose of the visit. He replied, ‘We are here for the shoot of Asoka. You should join us and have breakfast with Shah Rukh and us’!”

Rajesh Naik immediately agreed. When asked whether Kareena Kapoor Khan was also present at the breakfast table, he replied, “I don’t remember if she was there, but the child actor (Sooraj Balaji) was present. You won’t believe how Shah Rukh treated me. He was so happy that I accepted his invitation when it should have been the other way round! After we were done, he asked, ‘We are here for 7 more days. Aap roz hamare saath breakfast karne aayenge kya?’! The offer was very tempting, but I suddenly remembered that I had to be at work early in the morning. So, I told him, ‘Thank you so much, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to change my routine’. He understood my reason and told me, ‘Sure. Aapse ho sakta hai, toh hi aaiye. But I insist that you should join us’.”

Rajesh Naik revealed, “I couldn’t resist, and I ended up going for breakfast all 7 days! The shoot of Asoka was taking place 22 km outside the city. He used to call me ‘Sir’. During one of our breakfast sessions, he asked me, ‘Sir, would you and your office people like to come and see the shoot of our movie?’. I accepted this invitation too. I went to my office and asked my team if they were interested. Obviously, they agreed but requested that we go on a Saturday, which was an off day.”

He added, “My team had a total of 17 members. A minibus was booked, and we went to witness the shoot. The battle sequence was being shot. Even back then, he was a huge star, and yet, he was so kind to each one of them, as if we were VIPs. Food was arranged for us. A couple of people even went to his vanity van and shook hands with Shah Rukh!”

Rajesh Naik laughed as he shared, “My team was so charged up after that meeting and Shah Rukh's behaviour towards them that their efficiency increased. Our sales increased by almost 24% that year. The credit for it goes to Shah Rukh and Ravi Dada! Shah Rukh surely has some effect.”

Did he get a chance to click a picture with the superstar? Rajesh Naik said, “Yes, I clicked a picture with him. I asked him if he would put his hand on my shoulder. He laughed and was more than happy to accept my request (laughs).”

Rajesh Naik then got a couple of chances to meet the superstar, though those meetings were brief. Meanwhile, he also recalled a touching incident that Ravi Dada had narrated to him. He revealed, “While the shoot of Asoka was going on, his assistant’s mother passed away. Shah Rukh flew to Mumbai to pay his last respects. He even gave some money to the assistant. Then, he returned to Jaipur immediately. No one in the team was aware of his visit. Ravi Dada knew about it, and he told me. He said that this is how Shah Rukh treats every person in his team.”

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