Ever since he resigned from the superstar's employment, Yaseen Khan was missed from the Bollywood scene. A strapping 6'3" inch-tall protector to the core, he has been featured in TV documentaries besides being clicked frequently by the media while serving the Khan.
"It was my dream to serve Shah Rukh Khan. That dream came true. I have to follow my own path now so I can also devote time to my family. Both my parents are diabetes patients. Moreover, I am a married man with two little daughters now," says the 38-year-old Yaseen Khan from a small town in Karnataka. One daughter is three-years-old and the other, an infant. With pride, the dad points out, "My smaller child was born on my boss' birthday, November 2, last year."
King Khan's bodyguard through the decade between Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas and Farhan Akhtar's Don 2, has also been seen in brief appearances as a tough guy in Om Shanti Om and in his real-life role of the actor's bodyguard in Billu. "Those were just done on the spur of the moment," he laughs, adding, "I have never had any ambitions of becoming an actor. My skills are in ensuring safety, an area which I started out, initially with a security firm in Mumbai."
Speaking exclusively to SpotboyE.com after a long spell of self-imposed silence, Yaseen Khan stated that Shah Rukh Khan was an exemplary boss. The bodyguard stayed within the Mannat premises and travelled with SRK through the world on overseas shoots and concert tours.
It was a tough call for Yaseen to quit, but he acceded to a marriage arranged by his parents. For a while, the newlyweds stayed in an apartment organised for him by his boss.
Was SRK upset when his right-hand man quit? To that the response is, "My boss wasn't happy but understood my predicament. I had to find some time for my family, I believe myself to be a good son who has always followed his parents' bidding."
Yaseen recommended security person, Ravi Singh, who is now by SRK's side, besides the security provided by the police force.
The backstory about how Yaseen found employment with the superstar is a saga in itself. The usually reticent bodyguard opens up to flashback that as a young man in his 20s, he had hung around for weeks and months outside Mannat, besides attempting to catch his eye at Filmistan Studio. Frequent visits to SRK's office were in vain, as he was shooed off even though he was armed with references and recommendations. His father had known the family of SRK's mother. Yet no one gave him access to the super Khan.
Meanwhile, to survive in Mumbai, Yaseen worked in a security firm. By a stroke of luck, he helped a well-known doctor to park his car on the Andheri reclamation grounds. Pleased, the doctor chatted with Yaseen, who mentioned that he was looking for an opportunity to meet Shah Rukh Khan. "Done!" said the doctor, who was treating the star for back ailments at the Nanavati hospital those days.
Yaseen met SRK at the hospital and was immediately hired. "I've been hearing about you," the bodyguard was told. "Why haven't you met me earlier?"
Began a boss-bodyguard bond which lasted a decade. "He will always be my boss," Yaseen ends. "I do miss him...but there was no other option. I had to do right by my family."