‘Everyone expected...’: The night when Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan rewrote Bollywood narrative

When Hrithik Roshan burst onto the Bollywood scene in 2000 with Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, his overnight superstardom sparked widespread buzz. Alongside the praise, rumours also began swirling about alleged tension between the new sensation and the reigning superstar, Shah Rukh Khan.

For years, media narratives painted it as a clash between the ‘new king’ and the ‘old king’ of Bollywood.

At the height of these rivalry rumours, a chance encounter between the two stars told a very different story. Renowned restaurateur AD Singh, in a recent interview, recalled witnessing a moment that quietly shattered the speculation.

According to Singh, Shah Rukh Khan was dining at his restaurant when Hrithik Roshan walked in. With the media-fuelled rivalry fresh in everyone’s mind, the atmosphere reportedly turned tense. “Everyone was expecting something dramatic,” Singh recalled, adding that people anticipated an argument or an awkward confrontation.

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A Hug That Spoke Volumes

Instead of hostility, what followed surprised everyone. Shah Rukh Khan stood up, walked towards Hrithik, and embraced him. Singh said Shah Rukh congratulated Hrithik warmly on his success, with Hrithik responding in kind. The moment, he noted, was genuine and gracious, leaving onlookers stunned.

Singh described it as a ‘very nice moment’ that made it clear the supposed rivalry had been exaggerated and didn’t reflect reality.

What Lies Ahead for the Stars

Shah Rukh Khan is currently awaiting the release of King, directed by Siddharth Anand and featuring Suhana Khan, Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan, Raghav Juyal and Jaideep Ahlawat. Hrithik Roshan, meanwhile, is preparing to make his directorial debut with Krrish 4.

That quiet hug, away from cameras, proved that sometimes Bollywood’s biggest stories exist only in headlines, not in real life.