Late actor Manoj Kumar passed away on April 4, and in a recent interview, his brother Manish Goswami recalled the time when Manoj was upset with Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan after they did a spoof on him in their film Om Shanti Om. In the film, Farah included a scene where Shah Rukh’s character copied Manoj Kumar’s style. The scene was played for laughs, but the veteran actor did not like it and raised an objection. Manish recalled that Farah and Shah Rukh came over to apologise, and this meeting was arranged by late filmmaker Yash Chopra, who was also present.
In a chat with Vickey Lalwani on his YouTube channel, Manish shared, “He did not pursue it. He said, ‘I don’t want any money. I want a defamation only for one rupee. But then, good sense prevailed among everybody and they all came and they met him. It was all sorted out.” When asked if Farah and Shah Rukh apologised, Manish said yes, and added, “Yash Chopra saab played an instrumental role in that.” He shared that the late filmmaker was present when Shah Rukh and Farah came over and resolved the situation. “They did come home and apologised,” he said.
Talking about the time when Om Shanti Om released in 2007, Manish recalled, “He was quite disturbed by all these things. His stand was clear in his way. He knows best what he did and the entire nation also agreed with that. It was very nice for all of them to come and apologise. Things have been sorted out.”
At the time, Shah Rukh shared with NDTV that he apologised to the actor. “I was completely wrong. If he is hurt, I apologise. I called him in the afternoon, and the first thing he said to me was ‘It is no big deal, son’. People do parody. It is a done thing. I should have been over-careful. I should have called him earlier (to tell him about the spoof).”
Shah Rukh remembered Manoj Kumar upon his passing and shared on X, “Manoj Kumar ji made films that uplifted our country, our cinema, and focused on unity with unmatched sincerity. A legend in every sense. His films shaped an era and left a mark on our cinema. Thank you, sir. You will always be ‘Bharat’ to us.”
