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Swades is a critically acclaimed 2004 film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, starring Shah Rukh Khan as an NRI scientist who returns to India in search of his roots.
Back when SRK was shooting, he was diagnosed with a slipped disc.
Back in December 2001, Shah Rukh Khan hurt his back badly while filming an action scene for Shakti: The Power. He was diagnosed with a slipped disc and, after trying many treatments, had to undergo surgery where a small disc was placed in his spine. Around this time, he was also shooting for Ashutosh Gowariker’s Swades.
In a recent chat with Friday Talkies, Daya Shankar Pandey, who played Mela Ram in Swades, shared a scary moment from the set that left him shaken — and it involved Shah Rukh himself. He even thought it could end his career.
“There is a scene where I ride the bike in the film with Shah Rukh Khan sitting on the back. The reality is that I am not a great rider, but Ashutosh wanted me to ride the bike. Because I didn’t know how to, I suggested that I could sit in the back and SRK could ride it. Ashutosh refused and demanded that I ride it. He said, ‘SRK in the film is a US return, he won’t know the village, so you have to show it to him.’ Ashutosh, on set, is like Hitler. I then finally told him that I haven’t ridden a bike for a very long time, and he said, ‘No, I know you will manage it. You have no option.’”
Under pressure, Daya Shankar began practising around the village, still unsure about his ability to pull it off. But things didn’t go as planned. The moment he tried to take off, panic set in.
He recalled, “You won’t believe it, the bike actually went up in the air and threw SRK on the ground. I had left the bike and I was shivering in fear. I was convinced that this was end of my career. The whole environment on set changed.”
Making matters worse, SRK was already struggling with a serious back problem and had a physiotherapist with him at all times on set. “This was the same time when Shah Rukh Khan was suffering from severe back pain. So much that he had a physio on set. I am looking at him but I was so scared that I couldn’t even give him a hand to stand up. He then stood up, walked up to me and kept his hand on my shoulder. He quietly said, ‘I knew you didn’t know how to ride a bike.’ He quickly turned towards Ashutosh and said, ‘Ashu, lets take the shot’. Ashutosh gave me a death stare when Shah Rukh stopped him, and said, ‘What are you looking at? It was my fault. I disbalanced it.’”
Swades is a critically acclaimed 2004 film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, starring Shah Rukh Khan as an NRI scientist who returns to India in search of his roots.
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