Atlee Reveals Why Shah Rukh Khan Agreed To Shoot Zinda Banda In Chennai: 'I Thought He Was Kidding...'

Shah Rukh Khan created history at the box office with Jawan. The film has entered Rs 1000 crore club in just 18 days of its release. The film, directed by Atlee, has collected Rs 1004.92 crore gross worldwide in less than three weeks, and become SRK’s second film to surpass Rs 1000 crores. The first film was Pathaan, released earlier this year.

Director Atlee, who kept a low profile with the media for a long time, has now shared his thoughts on working with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in an interview with TV presenter Gopinath.

Atlee shared that Shah Rukh Khan readily agreed to work with an all-Tamil crew. When Atlee proposed shooting the Zinda Banda song in Chennai, SRK was supportive, even though it increased the budget by a whopping Rs 10 crore for filming in Tamil Nadu. “More than everything, we were shooting this film in Bombay. It is a huge jail set with a schedule of 45 days. So, it would take about Rs 60 to Rs 65 crore for it. So, when he told me we would shoot that in Bombay. I told him it would be very helpful for me, my unit, and my dancers if we shot it in Chennai,” shared Atlee.

Atlee said that he was told by the superstar that there’s no need to convince him. SRK told him that he has been a successful director, and he wants to give back to the people of Chennai, shooting a song there would be the best way. He told me, “You don’t have to convince me. I have brought you from that place, where you have been a hit director. If you want to give it back to them, this is the best way. It will also be kind of a thanksgiving from my side. Don’t worry we will make sure we shoot it there. I thought he was just kidding. If the film was shot in Chennai, we have to pay triple ‘bata’ to the members. For no reason, the cost would go up by Rs 10 crore. But he said okay to it. And I believe that’s the reason the film worked well here (Tamil Nadu).”

Atlee is writing a script for a movie with Shah Rukh Khan and Vijay in the lead roles. Both stars have agreed to be part of the film, and it might be Atlee’s next project.