MUMBAI: Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have patched up. On Friday night, the two spoke after a gap of almost two years. It happened at a private screening of ‘Guzaarish’ at Yash Raj Studios, when Bhansali was basking in the adulation his friends were showering on him. Suddenly, his phone flashed ‘Shah Rukh Khan’. For a second, Bhansali could not believe his eyes.
But in a flash, he strode out, almost screaming ‘Hi, Shah Rukh!” The assistant directors, who were standing beside him, were equally astonished. King Khan was calling their master after more than two years. SRK and Bhansali spoke for a full 20 minutes.
“The filmmaker was in a very animated conversation with King Khan,” says an eyewitness. When Bhansali returned with a big beam on his face, his team was certain that he had made up with King Khan. They looked at him quizzically. Bhansali, in his inimitable style, said, “I can’t tell you everything that we spoke.
But SRK did say that ‘Devdas’ was his best and this is our best.” Obviously, SRK has seen ‘Guzaarish’ before he called up its maker.
The SRK, Bhansali war goes to when SRK’s ‘Om Shanti Om’ and Bhansali’s ‘Saawariya’ released in theatres on the same day (November 9, 2007). Shah Rukh took a few digs at Bhansali and his film ‘Saawariya’, which upset Bhansali.
In one of his interviews, hinting at ‘Om Shanti Om’, Bhansali shot back, “Gags and jokes at senior actors do not make a film great. Cinema is not about laughing at legends. If we don’t do something new, our cinema will become a stagnant pool of gags and jokes masquerading as a masala entertainer.”
Ever since that day, the two shared very bad vibes. Also, Bhansali hardly gets along with SRK’s favourite filmmaker, Karan Johar and SRK’s ex-best buddy, Farah Khan. These two don’t matter now though to Bhansali; SRK after all seems to have fulfilled his ‘guzaarish’. That’s what friends are for.
