2 minutes of readingBombayJanuary 29, 2026 21:47 IST
Munjya actor Abhay Varma has long expressed his admiration for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. And as fate would have it, The actor is now working alongside his idol in Siddharth Anand’s The King.. Recently, while talking about his experience on the film, Abhay spoke about how surreal it felt to be in the same room as Shah Rukh, admitting that he could hardly believe that he was finally meeting his hero.
He told ABP News: “He is obviously the King. And honestly, I admire him not only as an actor, but also as a teacher. He represents the best of our youth, someone we can look up to. I have always put his work on a pedestal and, to me, he has the stature of a god. I respect him deeply.”
Reflecting on his first moments with Shah Rukh Khan, Abhay added: “At first, I had this nervous feeling thinking, ‘I hope one day Mr. Shah Rukh knows that there is a guy called Abhay Varma’. At the very least, I wanted him to know my name or maybe just see me once. But when I actually met him, when he hugged me and asked me how I was and if I was traveling comfortably, I felt like I had reached my stage of personal retreat, I couldn’t have asked God for more.”
Abhay Varma also spoke about how natural and warm Shah Rukh made him feel, leaving aside any superstar aura. “When I came back to my hotel, I felt like I had met Shah Rukh Khan. But when I was sitting with him, talking to him, he never made you feel like I was Shah Rukh Khan. He made you feel like you were meeting a friend,” he shared.
Apart from Shah Rukh Khan Abhay Varma, King has a star cast including Deepika Padukone, Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Anil Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Raghav Juyal, Jackie Shroff and Rani Mukerji. The film is planned for a Christmas Release 2026.