When Jaya Bachchan said she felt like slapping Shah Rukh Khan for his comments on Aishwarya Rai: ‘I have a weakness for SRK’

At the height of Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai’s fallout, tensions had escalated significantly and even Jaya Bachchan voiced her disappointment over certain remarks SRK made about Aishwarya.

Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai have worked together in movies such as Josh, Mohabbatein, Devdas and Shakti. Jaya Bachchan shares a close bond with SRK.

Two of the biggest stars Indian cinema has ever seen, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai have not only delivered unforgettable performances individually but also set the screens ablaze by appearing together in films such as Josh (2000), Mohabbatein (2000), Devdas (2002) and Shakti: The Power (2002).

However, their professional and personal relationship took a turn for the worse in the early 2000s and for reasons that still remain unclear — despite widespread speculations — they stopped working together and even distanced themselves personally. In fact, Aishwarya herself once revealed that she was dropped from at least five projects with Shah Rukh, including Chalte Chalte and Veer Zaara. However, SRK later apologised to Aishwarya and they eventually buried the hatchet.

Nonetheless, at the height of their fallout, tensions escalated significantly before gradually settling down and even Aishwarya’s mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan — who shares a close bond with Shah Rukh — voiced her disappointment over certain remarks he made about Aishwarya during that period.

In a 2008 interview with People magazine, Jaya was asked if she still held that against him, to which the legendary actor firmly responded, “Of course, I do.” She shared, “I haven’t had the opportunity to discuss it with him and I am going to speak to him about it.

If he was at my home, I would have slapped him, just as I would my own son. But I have connected with him in my soul, and that’s it,” adding, “I have a weakness for Shah Rukh.”