‘Ye haraam hai mere liye’: How Shah Rukh Khan refused to charge interest for money he loaned for a movie

Late filmmaker Ravi Chopra’s wife and producer, Renu Chopra, praised Shah Rukh Khan’s generosity in a recent interview with Pinkvilla. She recalled how SRK backed her son Abhay Chopra’s directorial debut, Ittefaq, when she had no money to produce it and even refused to charge interest on the amount.

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How SRK came on board for Ittefaq

Filmmaker Chopra reminisced about how Shah Rukh Khan came on board for the 2017 film Ittefaq. She recalled asking him if she could visit him, but he declined and said he would come to her out of respect. However, when he didn’t visit her for three weeks, Chopra decided to take the initiative.

Further recalling her meeting with Shah Rukh, Chopra said, “Maine kaha, ‘Dekh, paise mere paas nahi hai,’ toh he said, ‘Woh main laga dunga.’ Maine kaha, ‘Baki mere bacche puri tarah se dil laga ke picture banaenge’ (I said, ‘I don’t have money,’ to which he replied, ‘I’ll put in the money.’ I told him that my son would make the movie with his heart). It was my youngest son Abhay’s debut film. Unhone kahani bhi shayad padi nahi (SRK didn’t even read the story). His principle was, ‘I never back the horse; I back the jockey.’ He said, ‘If your son is backing it, I’ll back it.’”

Shah Rukh refused to charge interest

She recalled SRK’s sweet gesture and shared that the superstar refused to charge interest. She stated, “And to this day… the money was always 50-50 down the line. And when the movie was completed, like all other finances, there was normally an interest rate. He said, ‘Nahi, ye haraam hai mere liye. Main nahi lunga’ (No, this is forbidden for me. I won’t take it).”

About Ittefaq

The neo-noir mystery thriller marked Abhay Chopra’s directorial debut. Written by Chopra, Nikhil Mehrotra, and Shreyas Jain, the film was an adaptation of the 1969 film of the same name, directed by Yash Chopra. The film starred Sidharth Malhotra, Akshaye Khanna, and Sonakshi Sinha in lead roles and was an average performer at the box office, collecting ₹51.47 crore worldwide.

Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming movie

Shah Rukh will next be seen in the action-thriller King. Helmed by Siddharth Anand, the film reportedly also stars his daughter, Suhana Khan, along with Abhishek Bachchan in key roles. During an event at the Global Village in Dubai, SRK spoke about the film and said, “I’m not just shooting it here; I’m shooting it in Mumbai now when I go back in a couple of months. My director, Siddharth Anand, is very strict. He made Pathaan, so he is very strict. He said, ‘Don’t tell people about the film or what you are doing in it.’ So I can’t tell you, but I can assure you it will entertain you; you will have fun.”