SRK thanks fans for 'Pathaan' success 'despite situations'

'All of us are extremely thankful to the fans and to the media for all the love and for supporting the film so much,' he said

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Monday said the overwhelming love that has come his way with the release of Pathaan has made him forget the last four years when he took a break from movies.

The Bollywood superstar, who had not given any interviews prior to the film's release on January 25, sat down with co-stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham and director Siddharth Anand to finally discuss his absence from leading man roles and the magic and making of Pathaan.

Read | SRK 'grateful' as he greets fans outside Mannat

"I'm very proud to say I get scared sometimes. I feel sad sometimes. I lose confidence many times in a day and that's why you keep going because the weaker you are the stronger you can become," Shah Rukh said in the chat organised by Yash Raj Films.

"I thank Aditya (Chopra) and Siddharth... they gave me this opportunity. This is an expensive and time-consuming film and to give me a film at a time when I was not working and allow me to be a part of the film, I'm very grateful to them. I have forgotten the last four years in these last four days," Shah Rukh said.

The spy action thriller has broken many box office records and has raised Rs 542 crore gross worldwide in its first weekend.

"On behalf of Deepika, John, Siddharth and Aditya (Chopra) I want to say big thank you for all the love you have given to Pathaan," the superstar said here at the event to mark the record-breaking performance of the film.

The 57-year-old star said his fans are his safe place and whenever he needs love, be it in moments of joy or sorrow, he goes to his balcony and be with the people who admire him selflessly.

"My elders told me if you are sad, go to the people who love you... We will all have things that go wrong in life. Life is like that, it is meant to be like that. There will be good days and there will be bad days and we all have our bad days so someone told me that ‘don’t go to people you work with’….. Go to people who love you.

"And I am very lucky that I have millions and billions of people who love me. When I am sad, I go to my balcony, when I am happy I go to my balcony. God has blessed me so much that he has given me a permanent balcony ticket," Shah Rukh said.

The actor greeted his fans last night at the balcony of his home in Bandra, who had gathered to congratulate him on the blockbuster performance of Pathaan.

Ahead of the film's release on January 25, the team behind the film, including SRK, Deepika, John and Siddharth, stayed away from the usual promotional tactics implied by Bollywood, Shah Rukh said there was no specific reason.

"There is no specific reason behind us not meeting the media. The film was shot during Covid. Then we finished the film. And couldn't meet the media because of some reasons. But somewhere, the media, social media and everyone has shown so much love to the film," he said.

The actor went on to thank the media for supporting the film in spite of the fact that "there could be things that could have curtailed the release of the film."

"All of us are extremely thankful to the fans and to the media for all the love and for supporting the film so much. In spite of the fact that there could be things that could have curtailed the release of the film. We thank you on behalf of our friends and colleagues from the industry for bringing life to the cinemas," he added.

The film had landed in controversy before its release for the saffron bikini that Deepika's character wears in the song Besharam Rang.

Pathaan is the fourth movie in producer Aditya Chopra's ambitious spy universe, following Salman Khan's Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), and War, featuring Hrithik Roshan (2019).

The film, which was the "widest Hindi release" of all time in India, has emerged as the "highest grosser" for Shah Rukh as well as co-stars John and Deepika, director Siddharth and YRF, the studio stated in a press release.