Why a filmmaker was camped outside Shah Rukh Khan’s Mumbai home
The freelance filmmaker wants the Bollywood actor to sign on for his film
This is one way to gain someone’s attention. But perhaps even Jayanth Seege S hadn’t probably anticipated that his little makeshift camp outside the home of one of India’s biggest stars would leave the world riveted.
The freelance filmmaker from Bengaluru was camped outside Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s home in Mumbai earlier this week in a bid to get the star to sign on for his film, ‘Project X’. His story and social media posts have gone viral over the past few days, with Khan’s fans also now rooting for the filmmaker to get an audience with the superstar.
Jayanth’s story got further traction after Humans of Bombay took his appeal far and wide on social. In his own words, the young filmmaker described why he was camped outside Mannat, one of the most famous homes in India today.
“In August, when I came across Shah Rukh Khan’s interview where he said that he hadn’t signed any new movies since ‘Zero’, I literally went bonkers; I was like, ‘What if I get SRK to act in my movie?’ So, I created a movie poster overnight and tweeted it, tagging SRK,” Jayanth was quoted as saying by Humans of Bombay. “Obviously, nothing happened, but I still couldn’t shake off the thought — I retweeted it on his birthday again. Finally, in December, I don’t know what got to me — I thought, ‘Why not just go to Mannat and narrate the script to him face to face?’”
With this in mind, Jayanth landed in the city of dreams to push his cause on the last day of 2020. “So, I flew from Bangalore to Mumbai, and since then, every day, I come to Mannat at sunrise and stand here till midnight. Even the guards know me very well now–we chit chat everyday! I’d tell them about how I’m a struggling filmmaker, toh ladki toh milne wali hai nahi, at least SRK se ek baar mila do! [I won’t get a girl, so at least let me meet SRK].”
Jayanth says he will “stay put until he [Khan] signs my movie,” however, a Facebook post by him suggests he may have returned home, with his poster of 'Project X'.
There’s has been no word from Khan’s team yet, but the actor’s fans are taking Jayanth’s appeal viral by posting about him on social media to gain Khan’s attention.
Incidentally, Khan has announced that he will return to the screen this year. There is speculation his comeback film is 'Pathan'.