2 days Ago By Priya Singh
As the nation grieves the loss of veteran actor Manoj Kumar, a notable incident from 2007 has resurfaced—when Kumar was deeply offended by a scene in Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone's film Om Shanti Om. Directed by Farah Khan, the film marked Deepika’s debut but drew criticism from Kumar for depicting him in a comical light. The portrayal, he felt, was disrespectful, leading him to express his disappointment publicly and even file a defamation case at the time.
Manoj Kumar filed a defamation case against Shah Rukh Khan & sought Rs 100 cr after forgiving him twice! #ManojKumar #VeteranActor #BharatKumar #LegendaryActor #ShahRukhKhan #SRK #OmShantiOm #FarahKhan #Bollywood #BollywoodTrivia https://t.co/vyZlhsoD3W — NITESH KUMAR (@KumarNikstwiter) April 4, 2025 In Om Shanti Om, a particular scene where Shah Rukh Khan’s character sneaks into a movie premiere using veteran actor Manoj Kumar’s pass left Kumar feeling disrespected. Offended by the portrayal, Kumar requested director Farah Khan to remove the scene.
The filmmakers acknowledged his concerns and agreed to his demand, ensuring the scene was deleted from the film's Indian premiere. ALSO SEE: Ronnie Screwvala Becomes Bollywood’s First Billionaire, Beats All Three Khans Later, while speaking to the media, Shah Rukh Khan expressed regret and said, “I was completely wrong..
. If he is hurt, I apologise.” He also shared that he had called Manoj Kumar earlier that day, and the veteran actor had graciously responded, “It is no big deal, son.
” Shah Rukh Khan, reflecting on the controversy around Om Shanti Om, admitted he should have been more cautious. “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),” he said, as quoted by NDTV .
Though he had apologized to Manoj Kumar initially, tensions resurfaced years later. 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.
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 4, 2025 In 2013, Om Shanti Om was re-released in Japan, this time without removing the controversial scene that had upset Manoj Kumar. Feeling betrayed, the veteran actor filed a defamation suit against Shah Rukh Khan and sought ₹100 crore in damages. Kumar’s lawyer claimed that SRK had failed to personally apologise again and wasn’t willing to settle the matter.
Kumar himself stated that he had “forgiven them twice” but not this time, especially since the court had earlier ordered the scene’s permanent removal from all versions of the film. Eventually, after a prolonged legal dispute, Manoj Kumar chose to withdraw the cases against both Shah Rukh Khan and director Farah Khan, bringing the matter to a close..
