Shah Rukh Khan recently received a wave of congratulations after winning the Best Actor award at the 71st National Film Awards for his role in Atlee’s film, Jawan. Among the many well-wishers was one of his oldest friends, Viveck Vaswani, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the achievement. Sharing a nostalgic photo of Shah Rukh smiling, Viveck wrote, “Congratulations @iamsrk on the National Award! Very late but very, very deserving!” Shah Rukh responded warmly, saying, “Thank u for the wishes. All started with you. Raju finally ban gaya gentleman,” referring to their early film together.
Shah Rukh and Viveck share a long history dating back to their first collaboration in the 1992 romantic comedy-drama Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. In the film, Shah Rukh played the lead role of Raj ‘Raju’ Mathur, while Viveck portrayed Lovechand Kukreja. The movie was directed by Aziz Mirza and produced by G P Sippy, with Viveck serving as co-producer. Their bond went beyond the film, as Viveck helped Shah Rukh when he first arrived in Mumbai, even offering him a place to stay. They also worked together in other films like English Babu Desi Mem, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, and King Uncle.
Despite their close friendship, Viveck revealed last year that they hadn’t spoken for several years. He mentioned that Shah Rukh has many phone numbers, but Viveck only has one, and although he tried reaching out after Jawan released, they missed each other’s calls. Viveck expressed understanding, acknowledging Shah Rukh’s busy life managing his vast career but cherishing their past connection.
