Alia Bhatt feels despite recent box office failures, Shah Rukh Khan ‘needs no advice’: He’s magic and magician together

Shah Rukh Khan was once the most bankable name in the Hindi film industry. His presence was enough to guarantee a film’s success. While his stardom has certainly not diminished since his heydays, Shah Rukh doesn’t quite carry the same assurance of success at the box office. His junior and colleague Alia Bhatt was asked what advice she would give Shah Rukh given that she seems to have cracked the box office code with the success of Gangubai Kathiawadi. Also read: When Shah Rukh Khan ‘didn’t want to be a star’ after Amitabh Bachchan’s advice

Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi was a huge box office success, having earned worldwide gross collection of over ₹200 crore. Alia Bhatt also featured in Telugu film RRR, which is one of India’s highest-grossing films ever with a total gross of ₹1200 crore. Shah Rukh was last seen in the 2018 film Zero, which was a box office bomb, earning only ₹186 crore against a budget of ₹200 crore. Before that was Jab Harry Met Sejal, which only did moderate business.

In an interaction with Indian Express, Alia was asked what advice she has for Shah Rukh considering she has delivered several box office hits of late while Shah Rukh’s films have not worked. Alia responded, “He needs no advice. He’s the magic and magician put together. So I won’t give any advice to him, rather I’ll take advice from him on how magical he is.” Shah Rukh and Alia worked together in the 2016 film Dear Zindagi, where she played the lead role and he had an extended cameo.

Shah Rukh has given himself a solid chance of redeeming his record at the box office next year with three releases. First up is Yash Raj Films’ action entertainer Pathaan, which also stars John Abraham and Deepika Padukone. This will be followed by Atlee’s Jawan, which marks Nayanthara’s Bollywood debut. Shah Rukh will round up the year with his first collaboration with Rajkumar Hirani–Dunki. The film also stars Taapsee Pannu.

Alia will be next seen in her home production Darlings. The Jasmeet K Reen film also stars Shefali Shah and Vijay Varma. It will be released on Netflix on August 5.