Is Shah Rukh Khan’s character ‘Bauua’ in Zero inspired by his own wit?

By Ankita Bhalla

on December 12, 2018

Apparently Shah Rukh Khan’s character Bauua in Zero has a wicked sense of humour and if the film’s promos are anything to go by, he is sure to keep the audience entertained by his dialogues only leave alone the fact that Bauua features in a love-triangle with Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.

When Shah Rukh was asked if Bauua’s wit was inspired by his own sense of humour, the actor replied, “It could be, because Himanshu Sharma (the writer), Aanand L. Rai and I have wicked senses of humour. So when some girls saw the film, in the beginning they were like, ‘You are so wicked, so mean, we are not used to seeing Shah Rukh like this!’ But, there is a reason for it. Ek line hai film mein, when his friend tells him, ‘Bhagwan tujhe punish karenge.’ To this, Bauua says, ‘Aur kitna karenge, kar to diya. Main advance tax de kar aya hu.’ There should be cynicism in people sometimes, which in a hero character we cannot portray too much. But kabhi kabhi insaan apni kami ki wajah se khafa rehta hai. So we didn’t make him angry, or badly wicked, we made him funny like that. Wo jawab deta hai har cheez ka. There is a crass quality to him. He is daswi (10^th) fail. Padha likha nahi hai.”

[caption id="attachment_173978" align="aligncenter" width="640"] SRK in a still from the trailer of Zero[/caption]

While referring to another scene in the film Shah Rukh said, “Personally, I would never be able to say anything like this. Even while doing it in the film I was a little awkward.Jab usko ladki bolti hai, ‘Tumne kaise soch liya ki tum mujhse shadi kar sakte ho? He says, ‘Hamare yahan plot dekhne ke paise thodi lagte hain’. It’s a rude thing to say.” In another scene, Shah Rukh added, “The first time a girl calls him she says Bauaa Ssssingh, stammering on the name. Bauua replies, ‘Arrey Singh me seeti lagti hai? Ye to hume pata hi nahi tha!’”

The actor said as the film progresses, audiences will find his character’s rudeness honest. “It happens to me sometimes while cracking a joke. People misconstrue it with honest goodness. But I know you well enough to joke with you so don’t get this wrong. Bauua’s honesty becomes better than his wickedness. It is good for him to be like this. He is like that till the end. There is no change in him. That’s the beauty of the storytelling. He is who he is. None of the people change to make others happy; they become happy with life, being who they are.”

[caption id="attachment_180815" align="aligncenter" width="750"] SRK in a still from the trailer of Zero[/caption]

Zero is set to hit the theatres on December 21. The film features Anushka Sharma playing the role of NASA scientist Aafia Bhinder who suffers from Cerebral Palsy while Katrina Kaif will be seen in the role of Babita a movie star.