Siddharth Anand, the filmmaker behind hits like War, Fighter and Pathaan, has spoken candidly about the pressures and expectations that come with directing a superstar such as Shah Rukh Khan. In a recent conversation with Variety India, the 47-year-old director described the tightrope every filmmaker walks when creativity meets superstardom.
Anand admitted he feels the weight of expectation but drew a clear line between pressure and pandering. “I wouldn’t say there’s pressure, but I would say there are expectations,” he told the outlet, acknowledging that working with a megastar naturally raises the bar. Still, he was quick to point out the danger of losing one’s filmmaking instincts in the search for a sure formula. “But if I start pandering to them, then it’s a mistake; I’ll go wrong in my filmmaking,” Anand said, adding a pragmatic note: “Because if there were a formula for catering, then everyone would be making blockbusters.”
The director’s comments reveal a filmmaker trying to balance two honest impulses: respect for audience hunger and loyalty to the story he wants to tell. For Anand, repeatedly chasing an assumed “success formula” amounts to second-guessing what audiences truly want and that, he believes, can rob a film of its heart. Instead, he says his team is approaching King determined to trust the story and prove their craft once again, rather than chase a guaranteed template.
That philosophy is especially striking given the high stakes surrounding King. The Shah Rukh Khan starrer, which also features Deepika Padukone, Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Abhay Verma, is scheduled for a big Christmas release on December 24, 2026. With a calendar placement like that and a cast full of headline names, expectations are naturally high. Anand’s remark that “there are expectations” is understatement; for him, the real risk is letting those expectations dictate choices that should belong to a filmmaker’s instincts.
At its core, Anand’s message is a defence of creative honesty. He reminds us that filmmaking isn’t a factory line of guaranteed hits, but an act of taking chances, trusting characters, scripts and instincts over a checklist of what has “worked” before. It’s a useful reminder in an industry where commercial pressure can be relentless, especially when a project involves a beloved figure like Shah Rukh Khan.
As audiences wait for more details about King, Anand’s remarks offer a preview of the attitude behind the film: ambitious, aware of the stakes, but unwilling to sacrifice storytelling on the altar of predictability. Whether that approach pays off at the box office or with critics will only be known when King reaches cinemas next December, until then, the director and his cast appear intent on letting the work speak for itself.
