Shah Rukh Khan is still struggling: Neha Dhupia

The lady who created ripples in the Bollywood film industry a few years back with her statement, ‘Only sex and Shah Rukh Khan sell in India’, is back with a another shocker that is certain to grab headlines once again.

Neha Dhupia, who was in Dubai for the world premiere of her Bollywood film, “Pappu Can’t Dance Sala” clearly hasn’t let go of her fixation of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, this time saying: “Our new film talks about the struggles everyone goes through in life. No one is exempt from such hardships, not even Shah Rukh Khan. He too struggles every day to stay at the top.

“That is the reality and our film transforms that slice of life onto the big screen, one that is a part of our daily existence.”

Dhupia, who was in Dubai with co-star Vinay Pathak and director Saurabh Shukla talked about her own setbacks and hardships when she was struggling to gain a foothold in the world of glamour.

“Before winning the India pageant, I was someone who stayed in the background, fighting to be heard. People have seen me on the ramp, but few know that before the spotlight, I used to work backstage, helping models into their shoes before they stepped up.

“In my first three years in Mumbai, I had to change my apartment six times, for one reason or another, doing my best to gain a foothold in the modelling arena. It didn’t come to me served on a platter.”

Dhupia, however, isn’t bitter that the privileges that are guaranteed to a star son or daughter did not come her way.

“When life cracks a joke, your ability to laugh at is a slice of life. That is a simple philosophy that I live by and that is what we have captured in our new film,” she said.

Before one wonders about the film’s title, Dhupia is quick to clarify that there is no ‘Pappu’ in this film, but rather several Pappus, each one a struggler.

“There is one who resides in all of us, fighting a battle every day to fulfil dreams and ambitions; we can all relate to that,” she said.

The former beauty queen may have slipped into the film’s role of a backup Bollywood dancer fairly well, drawing on her own personal experiences; however, even she admits that there was one scene in particular that scared even her.

“It was the first day of the shoot and I was in character; all I had to do was say my lines and slap Vinay Pathak. However, whenever it was time to raise my hand and hit him, I simply couldn’t do it hard enough, thinking no, he is my friend and I can’t hurt him.

“Finally, after 14 takes, Vinay was angry of being slapped repeatedly, he threatened that if I didn’t slap him hard, then he would instead. So in the 15th take I canned it.”

“Pappu...” has already garnered some decent reviews from critics, but is Dhupia worried that it may not be a commercial success at the box office considering there is no sex or Shah Rukh Khan in this film?

Quiz her and she simply laughed, saying: “I stand by my statement but add a third condition, so now its sex, Shah Rukh and a good script.”

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