Shah Rukh Khan is one of the biggest stars in the world, but he is praised for making it on his own without a Godfather in the industry. Khan rose to fame and built his own empire from a child delivering samosas at the National School of Drama (NSD). Veteran actor Pankaj Kapur recalls the 70s when he was a student of NSD, he remembers seeing Khan’s face as a child. “Those samosas were given by Shah Rukh Khan. He was a little boy, 10 years old at the time,” Kapur said in an interview on Kindle Cast’s YouTube channel. He added, “I think his uncle or father was in charge of the canteen at that time,” he added. Years later, fate brought the two together professionally when Pankaj shared screen space with Shah Rukh in: Rajiv Mehra:1995 action thriller Ram Jaane.His father, Mir Taj Mohammed Khan, is a restaurateur in Delhi and owns the famous restaurant Khatir in Safdarjung. The superstar has previously spoken about spending most of his childhood in NSD. Since his sister, Shehnaz Lalarukh Khan, attended classes there, Shah Rukh would always wait for her after school before going home together.Apart from the restaurant, he also manages the NSD mess, where he reportedly spends most of his time. After his death in 1981, Shah Rukh’s mother, Lateef Fatima Khan, continued to run the family business until her death in 1990.“I was a cute kid and my entire childhood was spent in the laps and hanging out with the best actors in India,” Shah Rukh said. The Times of India in 2014.Growing up around the institution allowed him to observe some of the most respected names in Indian theatre, including Pankaj Kapur, Raghubir Yadav, Raj Babbar, Nadira Babbar, Naseeruddin Shah, Rohini Hattangadi and: Anupam Kher. Many of these actors later shared the screen with him in films.Reflecting on their influence on his life, Shah Rukh said, “I watched all their plays and rehearsals for months. I just grew up wanting to be an actor growing up watching these actors. I may not meet them now, but they taught me how to act.”
