Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 1: Bollywood icons Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone lit up the stage at the WAVES 2025 Summit during a heartwarming and humorous session titled “The Journey: From Outsider to Ruler”, moderated by filmmaker Karan Johar.
During their candid conversation, SRK made a playful revelation about his close bond with Deepika. “When I come on stage, I can be very shy, very awkward… that’s why I love Deepika, because she’s taller than me. So when we go to a party, I can hide behind her,” he quipped, drawing laughter from the audience.
Deepika responded affectionately, “It’s true! There are two awkward people – he runs behind me, and I run behind him. We’re just trying to hide behind each other.”
Amid the jokes, Shah Rukh also took a tender moment to express his admiration for Deepika’s personal journey. Referring to her recent entry into motherhood, he shared, “I think the role she’s going to play the best, inshallah, is that of a mother to Dua. She’s really going to be a wonderful mother.”
The duo has enjoyed a celebrated on-screen partnership, beginning with Deepika’s Bollywood debut in Om Shanti Om (2007), followed by blockbusters like Chennai Express, Happy New Year, and Pathaan.
The session took place as part of the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025, a first-of-its-kind international event inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The four-day summit, held at Jio World Convention Centre, aims to position India as a global leader in entertainment and creative technologies. It runs from May 1 to May 4.