Ayan Mukerji on Shah Rukh Khan’s Brahmastra cameo: There is no way to ever repay what he has done

The movie Brahmastra, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, may have received mixed reviews initially, but the producers revealed on Friday that the movie grossed Rs 300 crore at the box office globally in its first week of release. Ayan Mukerji, the film's director, expressed his gratitude to Shah Rukh Khan in an interview with PTI, saying that in addition to his prolonged cameo, the actor contributed his experience from working on other VFX-heavy movies to the filmmaker's most significant effort.

Ayan said in the interview, "There is no way to ever repay what Shah Rukh Khan has done in Brahmastra. Unanimously, one of the favourite things in Brahmastra has been Shah Rukh Sir’s sequence."

The director remembered that the superstar, who starred in the visual effects superhero film Ra.One in 2011, not only supported his concept but also acknowledged his effort to produce a major blockbuster spectacle. He continued, "I believe that, as he has made a lot of visual effects films, he knows the struggle of making that kind of film. He appreciated the journey I was on and knew how difficult it would be. He felt that if he could give a little support to the vision, he should do it."

King Khan portrays Mohan Bhargava, a scientist as well as a significant Brahmansh member who is tasked with protecting a fragment of the antiquated Astra. In the movie, his persona uses the Vanarastra. Shah Rukh's character is named Mohan Bhargava as a tribute to his performance in the critically praised 2004 movie Swades, on which Ayan previously worked as an assistant director.

Ayan added, "In Swades, he plays a NASA scientist called Mohan Bhargava, who decides to come back and work in India. Since I had worked on Swades as an assistant, I thought it would be a nice thing to throw in here."

The filmmaker also doubts anyone else could have performed as well as Shah Rukh did for the film. He explained, "He just came and did a great sequence. I don’t know if anybody else would do it. People don’t do it. I hope, one day, if I reach that position, I am able to do something selflessly to help somebody else."

Brahmastra is also produced by Star Studios and Dharma Productions. It also features Mouni Roy and Nagarjuna. The first film in the series introduces the Astraverse, a wholly original cinematic universe. Deepika Padukone makes a brief cameo appearance in the film.