Bollywood’s beloved Badshah, Shah Rukh Khan, was honored with the prestigious Pardo Alla Carriera Award (Lifetime Achievement Award) at the 77th Locarno Film Festival on August 10. During a conversation with Giona A. Nazzaro, the artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, Shah Rukh discussed his choice of the role in ‘King’ and the process behind bringing his character to the screen in Sujoy Ghosh’s directorial project.

Reflecting on his recent successes with ‘Jawaan’ and ‘Dunki,’ Shah Rukh said, “There are certain kinds of films that I want to do, maybe more age-centric, and I want to try something new. For 6-7 years, I’ve been thinking about it, and I mentioned it to Sujoy one day while we were sitting together. He works with us at our office and has made some films for us. He said, ‘Sir, I have a subject.'”

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As the conversation continued, the ‘Baazigar’ actor revealed the preparations he had to undertake for ‘King.’ Shah Rukh disclosed that for this role, he needed to shed some weight and stretch to avoid injury during action sequences. Commenting on the painful process, SRK added his signature wit, saying, “I have two bags full of icing machines. It’s the worst thing to see me on set after an action scene. I look really cool in the film, but afterward, I look tied up, with someone pressing my back. It’s difficult to walk, and then suddenly, I see people and send them flying kisses.”

Also Read: Shah Rukh and sons Aryan & AbRam to voice ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Hindi version

The upcoming project ‘King’ also stars Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter, Suhana, who will make her theatrical debut with the film after appearing in Netflix’s ‘Archies,’ directed by Zoya Akhtar. It has also been confirmed that Abhishek Bachchan will play the antagonist in the film.

A previous report by Peeping Moon revealed that a source close to the development said, “King presents Abhishek in an out-and-out negative role for the first time in such a large-scale commercial movie, and he is sure to make a significant impact with his performance. Abhishek was surprised when he was offered this role but accepted it immediately, intrigued by the depth of his character. It’s a special role, and Siddharth Anand has grand plans to present Abhishek in a manner audiences have never seen before.”

Previously, Abhishek collaborated with Sujoy on ‘Bob Biswas,’ a spin-off film of Sujoy’s blockbuster ‘Kahaani.’ The film was co-produced by Sujoy and SRK’s banner, Red Chillies. The banner also produced Sujoy’s revenge drama ‘Badla,’ starring Taapsee Pannu and Amitabh Bachchan in pivotal roles.