A heartrending and unscripted scene like he had never played before in any film was Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s challenge this morning as he faced son Aryan Khan in Arthur Road Jail. The actor was apparently invited to meet his son for the first time since Aryan got incarcerated in the drugs and rave party raid aboard a cruise ship to Goa on October 2.
They sat across one another at Counter No. 12, with a glass partition between them, talking on the intercom at Arthur Road Jail. Sources say, for quite some time the father and son maintained silence and just regarded each other. Then SRK could not stop the tears from flowing. Seeing his father break down, Aryan’s face crumbled and he began crying too. Jail authorities had to pacify both.
Aryan is reported to have told his father, “I am sorry.” And SRK in tears replied, “I trust you… I am sorry” while 12 jail personnel watched on. Then smiling behind his tears, SRK asked, “Have you eaten anything?” Shaking his head, Aryan said, “No.” SRK asked the jailor if anything could be given to Aryan but was told not without the court’s permission.
Joining his hands, SRK then pleaded with other inmates to take care of his son. The actor is believed to have met the families of others inmates who were similarly visiting before he left Arthur Road Jail in blaze of flashlights outside. He did not speak to the assembled media.