When Akshay Oberoi joined the set of King, he says he found two lessons worth studying: a director who treats large-scale commercial Hindi cinema as visual craft, and a lead actor who stays present even when the call sheet does not ask him to.
The director’s craft
In a conversation with Variety, Oberoi said he is still learning from Siddharth Anand’s handling of visuals, technical aesthetics and action choreography. “I learn something from him all the time,” he said, adding that his working brief is straightforward: “I do whatever he wants me to do.”
He also pushed back on a familiar assumption. Oberoi argued that the divide between artistic craft and commercial filmmaking is false, and pointed to Anand’s run from Bang Bang! through War, Fighter and Pathaan as proof of a director “constantly pushing the commercial barrier.”
That framing matters in Hindi cinema, where commercial gloss is often discussed as a separate skill from serious craft. Oberoi is arguing the opposite: staging actors, designing action and sustaining a large-scale visual language is itself a discipline.
- Oberoi praised Anand for visual storytelling and action choreography.
- He sees Anand’s films as consistent, high-level commercial craft.
- He described his own approach as submitting to the director’s staging and look.
Those credits also give King a clear lineage. The film lands within a body of work built on spectacle and technical finish, and Oberoi’s account suggests the approach has not changed.
The Shah Rukh Khan difference
For Oberoi, the big takeaway from sharing the frame with Shah Rukh Khan is commitment. The star, he said, is calm and present on days when he is not shooting, keeps the energy of the unit positive, and will step in for cues or off-camera help when another actor needs it.
“You can’t make it to Shah Rukh Khan’s level without that,” Oberoi said. The actor described a work ethic that extends beyond the star’s own performance and into the film’s overall texture. That kind of off-camera support is easy to miss from outside a production, but it is often what distinguishes a smooth set from a strained one.
What King is promising
Directed by Siddharth Anand, King is an action thriller scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on December 24, 2026. Shah Rukh Khan plays a ruthless underworld mentor and assassin, while Suhana Khan reportedly appears as his protégé and daughter.
For a Hindi cinema audience that follows commercial craft closely, the production pairs a director known for polished large-scale action with a star whose set behaviour, by Oberoi’s account, is part of the product. The December date places the film in the holiday corridor, and these production notes give an early sense of the tone: methodical, visual, and built around its lead’s command.
Source: The Times of India
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