When Shah Rukh Khan recalled his father’s emotional story of avoiding the valley and how Yash Chopra finally made it possible: ‘I have been all over the world, but I never went to Kashmir’ |

An old episode of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ with Shah Rukh Khan is making the rounds online again, drawing attention to a deeply personal story the actor shared about his connection with Kashmir. Speaking to host Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh spoke about his family’s roots in the region and the emotional reason why he avoided it for years.

Shah Rukh Khan remembers his father’s wish

According to Shah Rukh, his father had once encouraged him to visit three specific places during his lifetime, but Kashmir came with a special condition. “It is a very emotional story, Amitji. My father’s mother was a Kashmiri. He had told me in my life to look at three places in life, whether he is alive or not. He said, look at Istanbul, look at Italy, Rome and look at Kashmir. But look at the other two places without me, but don’t look at Kashmir without me. So he died very early and I have been all over the world, but I never went to Kashmir,” he shared. Despite traveling a lot around the world, Kashmir remained the only place he consciously kept out of his itinerary.

Why Kashmir was left off your travel list

Shah Rukh revealed that he had received multiple opportunities to visit Kashmir over the years, including invitations from friends and trips taken by his own family, but decided to hold back each time. “And I had many opportunities, many friends invited me and my family went on vacation. But I never went to Kashmir because my father had told me, ‘Don’t visit Kashmir without me, I will show you.’ And then suddenly this happened, and Yash Chopra told me, ‘We will file in Kashmir.’ And usually I have refused, not for any other reason, political, geographical, or any other reason, but because there was an emotion: I would watch Kashmir with my father. But I felt that’s not the case. So it would be best to go with Yashji,” he explained.

How Yash Chopra changed that

The turning point came when filmmaker Yash Chopra decided to shoot his next film, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, in Kashmir, with Shah Rukh in the lead role. For the actor, this was not just another shoot: it had deep personal weight given his father’s long-standing wish. Choosing to take the trip alongside Yash Chopra allowed him to finally visit the Valley in a way that felt emotionally meaningful to him rather than compromising the promise he had made to himself.

‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’: Yash Chopra’s latest film

Jab Tak Hai Jaan became a major milestone in Yash Chopra’s illustrious career, marking his last directorial venture. The romantic drama starred Shah Rukh Khan alongside Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma, with several parts filmed amidst the picturesque landscapes of Kashmir. Yash Chopra passed away in October 2012, making the film his last release as a director and his last collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan.

Shah Rukh Khan’s work front

Shah Rukh remains one of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars, most recently starring in Dunki, which was released in theaters on December 21, 2023. He is now gearing up for his upcoming film King, a project that has generated great anticipation among fans and is expected to mark his next big theatrical outing.