Actor Vidya Malavade has revealed that Shah Rukh Khan was nicknamed 'Papa Bear' by the Chak De! India team. With the film completing 14 years, Vidya recalled working with Shah Rukh.
Speaking to The Times of India Vidya said, "Shah Rukh Khan is the most humble actor and he is incredibly patient. In Chak De! India, some of us were actors, some were players. He was both. Shah Rukh is a fantastic sportsman. We had a name for him on the set. We used to call him, ‘Papa Bear’. We all had these tiny crushes on him because, hello, he was Shah Rukh Khan!"
Vidya added that Shah Rukh always ensured everyone worked together as a team. "Shah Rukh had this incredible quality of bringing us together as a team. He was mindful of what we are doing right and where we are going wrong. Some of us were acting for the first time so they would not know where the light was coming from. He would always be there, teaching things. He was literally a coach for us".
Recently, Chak De! India was remembered during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. After the Indian women's hockey team entered the semifinals of the Olympics for the first time, there was a fun exchange between coach Sjoerd Marijne and Shah Rukh.
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