Long before Shah Rukh Khan became one of Indian cinema’s biggest stars, he was the little boy carrying samosas and tea around Delhi’s National School of Drama. That vivid memory resurfaced this week when veteran actor Pankaj Kapur looked back on his theatre days and shared an anecdote that instantly added a fresh, intimate detail to Shah Rukh’s early life.
Speaking on Kindle Cast’s YouTube podcast, Kapur recalled the backstage rhythm of NSD in the mid 1970s, when actors, rehearsals and canteen breaks formed the pulse of the campus. In the middle of that world, he remembered seeing a very young Shah Rukh helping out around the canteen.
Kapur said, “I think his uncle or father used to run the canteen at that time.”
The recollection lines up with Shah Rukh’s long documented connection with NSD, even though he never formally studied there. As a child, he spent time on the campus while waiting for his elder sister, Shehnaz Lalarukh Khan, and watched rehearsals by some of the country’s finest theatre practitioners. That exposure has often been cited as part of the atmosphere that shaped his early fascination with performance.
Pankaj Kapur’S Memory Adds A Human Detail
What makes Kapur’s story stand out is its ordinariness. Before the superstardom, before Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Pathaan or Jawan, Shah Rukh was simply part of the ecosystem of a theatre institution that has shaped generations of actors. Kapur also went on to share screen space with Shah Rukh years later in Rajiv Mehra’s 1995 film Ram Jaane, giving the anecdote an added full circle quality.
The story also reconnects Shah Rukh to his family’s roots in Delhi. His father, Mir Taj Mohammed Khan, was associated with the food business in the capital, and the family’s ties to the NSD canteen have been referenced in accounts of Shah Rukh’s childhood. Kapur’s quote now gives that memory a face and a moment.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Recent And Upcoming Work
Shah Rukh Khan’s last full fledged releases were all in 2023, a year that marked a major commercial resurgence for the actor. He led Pathaan, Siddharth Anand’s action blockbuster co starring Deepika Padukone and John Abraham, followed by Atlee’s Jawan, in which he shared the screen with Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi. He ended the year with Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, alongside Taapsee Pannu, a film that brought him back to a more emotional, character driven space.
His next confirmed theatrical release is King, which is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on December 24, 2026. The Siddharth Anand-directed action thriller stars Shah Rukh Khan alongside Suhana Khan, with Red Chillies Entertainment backing the film. As of June 2026, King remains his only confirmed upcoming acting release.
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