Dabboo Ratnani On Shah Rukh Khan’s Uninhibited Nature As A Newcomer, “No Natak, No Nothing”

In his career spanning decades, celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani has worked with some of the biggest Bollywood stars. Recently, Dabboo Ratnani opened up about his experience of working with Shah Rukh Khan when he was a newcomer in the film industry. He revealed how Shah Rukh would seek his advice on how to pose and praised the actor for never double-questioning the instructions. Dabboo Ratnani said, “When I shot Shah Rukh for the first time in Film City, he was still new to the industry. He asked, “How do I pose? I am not good at it.” At first, I thought he was joking with me. Then I explained the poses, and he responded, “Nahi nahi, tu karke dikha (No, no, you show me). I’ll copy that”, in a chat with Vishal Malhotra on his YouTube channel.

Dabboo Ratnani added that initially, he thought that Shah Rukh Khan “was kidding” but later on found out that “he was completely serious”. Staying true to his words, King Khan imitated the exact poses as demonstrated by the photographer. 

Dabboo Ratnani recalled the time when he planned on executing a particular shoot that required Shah Rukh Khan to walk out of a lake. Without showing any resistance, the superstar followed the instructions through and through. “Shah Rukh is genuinely curious about what is going on in the director’s and photographer’s minds and aims to embody that vision. During one shoot, I decided to change our pre-planned setup and directed the cameras and lighting toward the lake. I asked him to walk into the lake so I could capture him coming out from it. Without questioning me even once, he took off his shoes and socks, wore his slippers, and just walked in. No natak, no nothing—he completely understood the vibe of the shoot,” revealed Dabboo Ratnnai. 

Workwise, Shah Rukh Khan had a fantastic year in 2023 delivering three back-to-back blockbuster films — Pathan, Jawan and Dunki. He has now collaborated with director Sujoy Ghosh for an upcoming project titled King. There are reports that Shah Rukh’s daughter Suhana Khan will be joining him in the movie. She made her film debut with Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies on Netflix.