Actor Chunky Panday recalled how Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan would spend a lot of time at his home when they first moved to Mumbai.
Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan often visited Chunky Panday during their early days in Mumbai. (Photo: Instagram/Gauri Khan, Chunky Panday)
In Short
Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri spent initial Mumbai days at Chunky Panday’s house
SRK, Gauri, Chunky, and Chikki Panday watched video cassettes together
Chunky saw ‘fire’ in SRK and knew he’d be a superstar
Actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife, Gauri Khan, spent many days of their initial time in Mumbai at the house of actor Chunky Panday. Chunky shared in an interview how he, Shah Rukh, Gauri, and his brother Chikki Panday would sit together and watch video cassettes at Chikki’s house. The ‘Housefull’ fame also shared that Shah Rukh hasn’t changed a bit since he first came to Bombay (now Mumbai).
Remembering the old days, Chunky, during ‘Timeout With Ankit’ podcast, said, “I think one of Shah Rukh’s first friends in Bombay when he arrived was my younger brother Chikki. They’re still the best of friends. So, at that time, they (Shah Rukh and Gauri) were renting a place, and they used to come to meet my brother, sab baith ke video cassettes dekhte the (everyone would sit together and watch video cassettes). So he and Gauri were in my house quite often.”
Chunky Panday also shared that he always knew that Shah Rukh would become a superstar as he saw “fire” in him.
“With Shah Rukh, I was so sure this boy is gonna become a superstar. Because he had that in him, you can see that fireâ€æHe’s always had that. That talent has always been there with him before he became the superstar. So he’s very confident and he knew where he was going. I mean, yeah, of course, very proud that I’ve known him since then. He hasn’t changed,” Chunky shared.
While Chunky Panday’s brother and Shah Rukh remain friends to this day, Chunky’s daughter, Ananya Panday, and SRK’s daughter, Suhana, are best friends. They often share their love for each other on social media.
Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan will be next seen sharing the screen with Suhana. He had a great 2023 with the success of his three films, ‘Patlhaan’, ‘Jawan’, and ‘Dunki’.