Six years ago, Rohit Khandelwal became the first Indian and Asian to bag the coveted title of Mister World. Ever since, he has been enjoying a global stardom and recognition that came with the title. Being a pageant nerd, I have loved following his journey as the longest-reigning Mister World yet, and recently when I got to converse with him, it was too enthralling.

Rohit recently had the release of his music video Jo Mujhe Deewana Kar De, opposite Tulsi Kumar and the video saw the Mister World bring out the Bollywood in him. He is acting and dancing in the video and I have loved seeing this side of him. As I ask him if Bollywood and acting were always his ultimate aim, he gives me an honest answer.

Rohit shares,  

“Honestly, I was not sure about it earlier because I come from a business-oriented family and I was doing a corporate job, so I just went with the flow. In the middle, I had a little gap also as I went home to my father who needed some help with the business. But there is a side of Bollywood. I have done that sangeet dance and been a fan of Shah Rukh Khan. At home also, my parents have pampered me so much that they always made me watch movies. So, there is a side of Bollywood in me for sure.”

Talking about Shah Rukh Khan, Rohit’s love for the actor reflected in his winning answer at the Mister World 2016 stage as well. In the final question, Rohit was asked to propose the host of the event and Miss World 2013 Megan Young, and for that, Rohit resorted to SRK’s dialogue from Om Shanti Om, ‘Kitni shiddat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai’. While the answer eventually won everyone over, Rohit shares that initially there was a lot of skepticism around it.

He reveals,

“To be honest, all the people in my team told me that it was the most stupid decision to say a Shah Rukh Khan dialogue in Hindi and propose, because no one will understand it. I told them that I will translate it to English too, but they didn’t want me to take that risk for a one-minute answer on the finale night. I told them that I won’t do it. But on the stage, I don’t know what happened. They asked me to propose Megan (Young) and I thought isko yahi bolta hun, ‘Kitni shiddat se…’ and then explain it to people that it is law of attraction. That law is universal so it all worked out.”

I am glad that Rohit went with his gut and brought the title of Mister World home for the first time ever. I have been floored by him ever since and seeing him in the music video has made me eager to see more of him on screen.

Check out the entire interview here: