‘Shah Rukh Khan ko bohot ghatiya chai banake pilayi’: Tigmanshu Dhulia recalls making tea in microwave for actor in 1994

Director Tigmanshu Dhulia recently shared a funny incident from over three decades ago when he served 'bohot ghatiya (very bad)' tea to actor Shah Rukh Khan. Speaking with news agency ANI, Tigmanshu shared that at the time, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur was staying in Mumbai and started working on a film featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, and Suniel Shetty. (Also Read | Tigmanshu Dhulia says he can't write complex characters, scenes after Irrfan Khan's death: Actors won't be able to do it)

When Tigmanshu met Shah Rukh in 1994

Tigmanshu Dhulia recalled the moment from 1994 when he worked as an assistant to Shekhar. He described how he ended up making tea for Shah Rukh during that time while they were working on the script at Shekhar's flat, where the actor had also visited. He shared that after making Bandit Queen, Shekhar was in Mumbai for about one and a half to two years before moving on to international projects.

Tigmanshu on making ‘horrible’ tea for Shah Rukh

"Many films were started but later shelved. One of them was Maut Se Jo Darte Nahin with Shah Rukh, Nasser Bhai, and Sunil Shetty...Toh humne script likhna shuru kiya. Shah Rukh Shekhar ji ke flat mein bhi aaye the. Mujhe yaad hai, maine Shah Rukh ko chai banake pilayi thi (We started writing the script. Shah Rukh also came to Shekhar's flat. I remember making tea for Shah Rukh)," he recalled.

"Microwave mein banayi thi... mujhe aata bhi nahi tha ki microwave kaise chalta hai. Shekhar ji ne kaha, 'Ja yaar, chai bana de.' Pehli baar maine dekha tha ki microwave kaisa hota hai. Yeh main aapko 94 ki baat bata raha hoon. Phir bhi mujhe lagta hai ki maine Shah Rukh ko bohot ghatiya chai banake pilayi hogi (I made it in microwave...I didn't know how to operate it. Shekhar said, 'Go and make tea'. It was the first time I saw how a microwave looks. I'm talking about '94. Still, I think I made horrible tea for Shah Rukh)," he added.

About Tigmanshu's films

Tigmanshu has garnered international recognition with the biographical film Paan Singh Tomar, which premiered at the 2010 BFI London Film Festival. He also helmed the thriller drama Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster. He is also well known for his role as Ramadhir Singh in Anurag Kashyap's cult film Gangs of Wasseypur.

Shah Rukh's next film

Fans will see Shah Rukh in Siddharth Anand's King. Suhana Khan and Abhishek Bachchan are part of the film produced by Red Chillies Entertainment with Marflix. The movie will release globally in 2026. Reportedly, the film has been written by Sujoy Ghosh with Siddharth, Suresh Nair and Sagar Pandya.