Shah Rukh Khan Announces Next Venture 'King' Under Sujoy Ghosh's Direction

Shah Rukh Khan confirmed on Sunday that his upcoming film is titled "King," an action movie requiring him to lose weight. Rumours had been circulating about his involvement in "King," directed by Sujoy Ghosh, and it has also been reported that his daughter Suhana Khan will feature in the film.

During a Q&A session at the 77th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, where he received the Pardo alla Carriera award, Shah Rukh made the announcement. He shared insights into the physical demands of preparing for the role.

"The next film that I'm doing 'King', I have to start working on it. (I have to) Lose some weight, stretch a little so my groin doesn't get caught when I'm doing action. It's painful and hurtful. I have a bag full of icing machines. So you keep doing it. It's the worst thing to see me on sets after action. I look really cool in the film. After that I'm tired, somebody is pressing my back, I can't walk, and then suddenly you see people, and you give flying kisses," Shah Rukh told festival's artistic director Giona A Nazzaro.

Shah Rukh returned to cinema in 2023 with "Pathaan," "Jawan," and "Dunki" after a five-year break. He mentioned that performing stunts is challenging work. "You have to practice action. You have doubles doing some of the most dangerous stunts. I have some wonderful guys. There's a gentleman called Devil for 'Pathaan' and 'Jawan' and some other boys. But 80 per cent of it (action), you have to finally do it yourself if you want to sell it," he added.

The actor expressed his interest in roles more suitable for his age, an idea he once discussed with Sujoy Ghosh, who has directed films like "Badla" (2019) and "Bob Biswas" (2021) under Shah Rukh's production company Red Chillies Entertainment.

"There are certain kinds of films that I want to do, maybe it's more age centric and I have wanted to try something since six-seven years. I've been thinking about it and I mentioned it to Sujoy one day while we were sitting. He works with us at our office, he's made some films for us. He said, 'Sir, I have a subject'," Shah Rukh recalled.

Family Life Insights

Shah Rukh also spoke about leading a simple life with wife-producer Gauri Khan and their children Aryan (26), Suhana (24), and AbRam (11). "The family and kids are very simple. Like a father, I spend a lot of time with them. I want them to be humble about the privileges they have because of me becoming a star."

"I want them to understand they have to come out of the shadow, negative or positive, of being a star child. The wife is sweet. She keeps balance. There's some wisdom there. There are some jokes there," he added.

Suhana's Acting Debut

Suhana made her acting debut with Netflix's 2023 film "The Archies." Meanwhile, Aryan recently completed shooting for his directorial debut web series reportedly titled "Stardom." During the session, Shah Rukh mentioned he would finish work on "King" by 2025.