Amitabh Bachchan made the electric wheelchair famous in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 2016 crime thriller Wazir. Now Shah Rukh Khan is powering it further in Anand L Rai’s untitled film that he is shooting for at Mehboob Studio in Mumbai. The story about Wazirwas that Mr. B, who shot the entire film on the wheelchair, tested an incredible 43 different models before Vidhu zeroed in on the one that he finally used. Vidhu wanted to be satisfied that the veteran actor could operate the electric wheelchair on his own before shooting began.
It is not known whether Anand went that same way with SRK in their first film together. But the director of such slice-of-life films as Tanu Weds Manu andRaanjhanaa is known for extending himself to flesh out real life characters in 70 mm with just the right amount of cinematic emotions. Meanwhile SRK, his 52nd birthday celebrations now over, has got down seriously to the business of making Aanand’s film.
Speculation was rife that it was called Butla (which means dwarf), because SRK’s character in the film is a dwarf, till Anand dismissed the name. Then there was talk that he plays a double role. One of which was that of a dwarf. Like Kamal Haasan did in the 1990 action-drama Appu Raja. Till SRK himself shot down this story by saying his look in Aanand’s film is different from Kamal’s in Appu Raja.
Reports have it that SRK’s role is inspired by Tyrion Lannister, the popular Game Of Thrones character essayed by the Hollywood actor Peter Dinklage. But the picture is hazy as of now and Aanand will not make things clear.
Nevertheless, Peeping Moon.com sources confirm that the director is shooting scenes featuring SRK on the electric wheelchair at Mehboob Studio right now.
The electric wheelchair is quite a star on the sets and the cynosure of all eyes. It was customized to SRK’s requirements and cost Rs. 2 lakh. If the actor is going to be seen in it, then one character of his in Aanand’s film is definitely that of a dwarf. In a recent interview, SRK had revealed how he is refraining from signing any film till December 2018 as he wants to completely focus on his “challenging” character in Aanand’s film.