Shah Rukh Khan’s 60th birthday turned into a celebration of memories, fanfare, and renewed excitement for his upcoming film ‘King’. But amidst all the love, it also sparked an emotional and honest reflection from actor-producer Viveck Vaswani, the man who once gave SRK a roof over his head when he first came to Mumbai.Speaking to Radio Nasha Official, Vaswani opened up about how he felt after watching Aryan Khan’s debut series The Ba**ds of Bollywood. While he appreciated the show’s execution, its dark portrayal of the film industry left him deeply unsettled. He said he couldn’t understand where the idea of Bollywood being a “bad place” came from.“When Shah Rukh came into the industry, the amount of love and respect that Aziz Mirza and Nirmala gave him, and that me and my mother gave him, and Saeed Mirza gave him… everyone treated him with so much affection. So when did he come to the conclusion that Bollywood is a gutter and everyone in it is bad people? He is the one person who was treated with kid gloves as a rank outsider,” Vaswani said.He recalled that SRK had a much smoother start than most outsiders. “Not once did he struggle from the road. He was living in Cuffe Parade. After he got married, when he couldn’t stay in my house, Aziz gave him a house in Bandra. Haroon treated him like a brother, Aziz’s son. Raheela treated him like a brother, Aziz’s daughter. I treated him like a brother. Everyone treated him so well, so warmly, without a single rift.”The series, Vaswani said, made him introspect. “I just thought, did I do something wrong? Am I to blame? Did I hurt him enough for him to think Bollywood is such a bad place? Because when a boy has been given VIP treatment by the industry, being a non–nepo kid, everyone gave him work and respect. He didn’t let them down either. He worked hard. But why such a portrayal? This is my industry. If India is my janam-bhoomi, then Bollywood is my karam-bhoomi. But then it is Shah Rukh’s karam-bhoomi as well.”He added that while his opinion might not align with others, it came from a place of genuine emotion. “To show your karam-bhoomi in that way, I thought that was a little sad. Everyone has loved the show. Nobody will agree with my point of view. Shah Rukh will not agree with my point of view. But you asked me for the truth. And I felt a little sad.”Despite his disappointment with the show’s tone, Vaswani praised Aryan Khan’s debut effort. “I binge-watched it. I enjoyed the show. The cameos were fabulous. Emraan Hashmi was absolutely superb. And I was very pleasantly surprised by Bobby Deol’s performance.”
