The 2023 blockbuster Jawan made huge waves as Shah Rukh Khan made his first collaboration with Atlee. In the movie, SRK was seen in a double role – Vikram Rathore and Azad. Director of the movie Atlee says he never thought the former would become the ‘mass character’. In an interview, he admitted that he even had a ‘bet’ going on with King Khan as to who would be hailed as the mass character.
He was speaking at a promotional event hosted for team Baby John. Atlee candidly talked about his directorial Jawan starring Shah Rukh Khan. Atlee shared, “I said, ‘Sir (SRK), you wait and watch; Vikram Rathore is going to be the mass character.’ He just looked at me and said, ‘No, sir. Girls like me, Azad will be the mass.’ I said, ‘Okay sir, bet sir bet.’ But exactly after seeing the film, he said, ‘Boss, you were right.' He just told me, ‘You are right. Vikram Rathore is the mass; everybody loved it.’”
Atlee further explained his definition of mass: “See, mass is a mother feeling. It’s not alien. When you cry for a girl, you cry for an emotion, when you tear for a baby, that is mass. When you get angry for the right reason, that is mass. When you stand for society, that is mass.
”Whatever people call mass isn’t mass, he said, adding that, “That is why I think in all my films, the elements seem to be working, and the films are blockbusters."
Sandhya Suri poses during a photocall for the film "Santosh" at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 21, 2024. 
Bhumi Pednekar