It’s time we worked together: Vidhu Vinod Chopra on teaming up with Shah Rukh Khan

Yas Island (Abu Dhabi), Sep 29 (PTI) They came close to collaborating on two of the biggest Hindi films “Munna Bhai MBBS” and “3 Idiots”, and filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra says it’s about time he and superstar Shah Rukh Khan worked together on a feature film.

Chopra was keen on casting Shah Rukh in the lead in two films, produced by his banner Vinod Chopra Films and directed by Rajkumar Hirani.

But things didn’t go as planned. Sanjay Dutt eventually fronted “Munna Bhai MBBS” and Aamir Khan headlined “3 Idiots”.

“Maybe today we’ll shake hands… And work together. Now, it’s (about) time we worked together,” Chopra told PTI on the green carpet of the IIFA Awards 2024 on Saturday night here.

Shah Rukh hosted the IIFA Awards 2024 alongside his “Dunki” co-star Vicky Kaushal and filmmaker-friend Karan Johar.

At the ceremony, the superstar also bagged the award for best performance in a leading role (male) for “Jawan”.

Chopra, who won the IIFA Award in the best direction category for “12th Fail”, said he wants to make films that will be remembered for years to come.

“I’m 72 now. I’m not going to stay around for too long. My cinema is going to out live (me), so, my cinema should be even better. I strive to do that. I’m tough,” the director said to the media.

“12th Fail”, based on Anurag Pathak’s bestselling novel, highlights the life story of Manoj Kumar Sharma who overcame extreme poverty to become an IPS officer and how his wife Shraddha played an instrumental role in his journey.

The film, starring Vikrant Massey and Medha Shankr, released on October 27, 2023.

Chopra said Massey was apt to play the lead role in “12th Fail”.

“I have a big problem because I could have asked a so-called individual star in this film. But the film would have looked fake. So, I had to look for an actor who could have this range of emotions.

“He (Massey) was amazing. He lost 8 kg and ate crazy things. He is one of the finest actors I’ve worked with. I am not an easy guy to work with, he must have told you that I work very hard and I strive for excellence like a crazy man,” he added.