Late actor Johnny Walker's son, actor Nasirr Khan, recently took a trip down the memory lane and talked about his childhood friendship with the Khans of Bollywood – Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Nasirr recalled their bond, saying, “They all are my childhood friends.” Talking about a cricket match from the late 1980s when Aamir's movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was running in theatres, and Salman's Maine Pyar Kiya was about to release, Nasirr said, “I remember us time pe Aamir ne Salman ko out kiya tha. Salman was like ‘ab mai isko out karke rahunga.' [I remember at that time Aamir got Salman out. Salman was like, ‘Now, I will get him out.'] Then, Salman caught his catch.”
Speaking about Salman Khan and Aamir Khan's working styles and the "professional rivalry," Nasirr Khan commented, “It was all a healthy competition. Even during Andaz Apna Apna, when I used to go there, there used to be so much fun. Because, Aamir is very prim and proper. He (Salman Khan) was like, ‘Chlo take karo na. Khatam karo na. Let's go home.” And he (Aamir Khan) was like, ‘No, no. I have to do this. I have to do that.' It was a fun banter between the two of them. Because uska [Aamir Khan] kaam karne ka treeka alg hai. Salman ka kaam karne ka tareeka alag hai. They are two different people. But aisa nahi hai ki dost nahi hai. Sab dost hai lekin ek professional rivalry hoti hai. And I think everybody was young at that time. Ek phase hai, jo sabne face kiye hai. Sab vo phase se nikal kar aaye hai. Galtiyaan ki hai. [It was a healthy competition. Even during Andaz Apna Apna, when I used to go there, there used to be so much fun. Because Salman Khan is very laid-back. He was like, ‘Come on, let's finish it. Let's go home.' And Aamir Khan was like, ‘No, no. I have to do this. I have to do that.' It was a fun banter between the two of them. Because Aamir's approach to work is different. Salman's way of working is different. They are two different people. But it's not like they aren't friends. They are all friends, but there was a professional rivalry. And I think everybody was young at that time. It's a phase that everyone has faced. Everyone has moved on from that phase. Mistakes were made.]” For the unversed, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan shared screen space in Rajkumar Santoshi's 1994 film Andaz Apna Apna.
Moving on to Shah Rukh Khan, Nasirr Khan mentioned, “I know Shah Rukh from the time when he came to Bombay. Jab vo aya tha, mai tabse usko jaanta hu. Hum log kitna milte the, kitna baithte they. [ I have known him since then. We used to meet a lot, spend time together.] At Bandstand, we used to hang around over there. He used to come alot to Salman's house also at that time.”
Recalling the early days of his friendship with King Khan, Nasirr Khan added, “80s mein Shah Rukh Khan ka jo bungalow (Mannat) hai, khreedne se pehle hum log sab vaha neeche baitha karte thay at bandstand. [In the 80s, before Shah Rukh bought his bungalow (Mannat), we all used to sit near Bandstand.] Me, my brother, Salman, Arbaaz, all used to hang around over there at that road at Bandstand. Then later, when Shah Rukh became a star, when he bought this bungalow, and even when he came to Mumbai at that time. I have known him, met him. I used to play a lot of video games with him at that time.”
Nasirr Khan also shared how during Shah Rukh Khan's early releases, the two used to visit different theatres to gauge people's reactions. He reminisced, “Uski (Shah Rukh) jitni bhi film thi na Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, hum log friday first show, I used to go with him. Hum log Gaiety Galaxy jate the, fir Chandan jate the, fir Satyam jaatey the. Town mein 3 to 6, 6 to 9, 9 to 12, hum log saari fimein, saare theatre [We used to go for the first show on Fridays. We would go to Gaiety Galaxy, then to Chandan, then to Satyam. From 3 to 6, 6 to 9, 9 to 12, we watched all the movies in all the theatres. ] Till Baazigar, till Darr, till the time he became a superstar.”
Nasirr Khan also mentioned that he is still friends with all the Khans and keeps on meeting them. He said, “And it's the same thing when I meet him (Shah Rukh Khan) today. We meet normally, causally ki aao milo, bacche kaise hain, ghar pe kaise hai kya hai. I keep meeting Salman Khan very often, Aamir Khan abhi recently mila tha.”