Shah Rukh Khan is known for having a lot of respect for all his seniors within the industry – be it Amitabh Bachchan or the late Dilip Kumar. In a recent interview, Dev Anand’s friend has also spoken about SRK’s bonding with the ‘Guide’ actor. He revealed that the late actor has suggested him to stop smoking. Dev Anand’s friend Mohan Churiwala was one of Dev Anand’s closest friends and confidants. Further revealing memories of the actor with SRK, Mohan Churiwala recalled an incident from a party hosted by Anil Ambani where he saw Shah Rukh descreetly leaning down to blow out cigarette smoke. Churiwala said during a chat with Vickey Lalwani, “Dev sahab told him, ‘Shah Rukh yaar, tu kyun smoke karta hai? Tu kitna achha ladka hai. Chhod de, isko chhod de. (Shah Rukh, why do you smoke so much? You’re such a nice boy. Just quit this.) So, he smiled and said, ‘I will try.’ He respected Dev sahab a lot.”Another touching memory was in London, inside a five-star hotel café. Churiwala was having coffee with Dev Anand when Gauri Khan, seated nearby with Sussanne Khan, recognised the legendary actor and walked over to greet him. Recalling the exchange, Churiwala said, “They came up to him and said, ‘Hello sir!’ ‘Hi Gauri, how are you?’ ‘Arey sir, you identified me!’ ‘Who doesn’t recognise you?’” He added that Gauri immediately called Shah Rukh Khan to excitedly share the moment. “They jumped with joy. Achha khasa drama ho gaya restaurant mein (Some nice drama happened in the restaurant).”Shah Rukh Khan has also spoken about how deeply Dev Anand influenced him. At a 2018 event, while discussing failure and perseverance, the actor shared advice that stayed with him over the years. “I met Dev Anand once and he said, ‘When I see you I feel if you would stop working, you will be finished.’ I think that stayed with me. So, I just do hard work. If a film works, I do not sit on its success and keep showering praises on myself nor do I stop for negative criticism,” Shah Rukh said.
