A barren salt desert in northern Ethiopia. Not a soul in sight. After walking for a few miles, Abhishek Shetty spots a villager who runs towards him. “You from India? I am a big fan of ‘Sarook Khan’,” says the villager breathless. And just like that, in the middle of nowhere, far away from home, Shetty made a new friend, thanks to his favourite actor Shah Rukh Khan. And it’s because of King Khan that Shetty finds himself travelling to new destinations.
How do you decide where to go on a vacation? You choose a theme, maybe a spa getaway, partying across islands, chasing the Northern Lights, a beach vacay, or adventure sports. And if you can’t make up your mind, there are websites that help you decide. But for 27-year-old Shetty, it’s a lot simpler. He just has to watch a bunch of Shah Rukh Khan movies and pick a destination. Of late, King Khan’s movie trailers are enough to get him travelling. He’s just back from Lisbon, Prague, Budapest — cities where the yet-to-release JabHarry Met Sejal has been shot. “My travels are up-to-date with SRK’s releases. The last location that I visited was Portugal. I already had the list of shooting spots based on an interview of the filmmaker Imtiaz Ali,” says Shetty.
Originally from Coimbatore, Shetty, who now works in Dubai, has travelled to around 10 countries following his hero’s footsteps. “I have been a Shah Rukh fan since I was four years old, even before I could understand Hindi. Baazigar is the first film of his that I watched and instantly became a fan,” says Shetty. One of the first places he travelled to is Amritsar, where he visited the Golden Temple. The Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi title song was shot there. He’s also been to Langkawi ( Don ), Athens and Mykonos ( ChalteChalte ), Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland (title song of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) , Atlantis The Palm, Dubai ( Happy New Year ), Iceland (‘Gerua’ from Dilwale ), multiple locations in England ( Jab Tak Hai Jaan ), numerous locations across India... “Of all these, Iceland has been my favourite because it felt so surreal, like being on another planet,” he says.
Shetty travels alone on principle. “I don’t invite anyone, as I feel that cramps my style. Moreover, I am a backpacker, so I travel in an economical way, which doesn’t really suit any of my friends. For example: I never stay in hotels. It’s always hostels or houses of locals. And I never use a cab. It’s only buses or I walk. And while backpacking across India, I travel only through general unreserved compartments. Apart from saving money, backpacking helps make my trip memorable, especially because I get to meet and interact with several locals,” he says, adding that he only saves to travel. “I have no ambitions of owning a house or buying a car or even marrying someone. I don’t spend money on materialistic things or parties.”
The passion to tour the globe started five years ago, when Shetty was to visit Thailand with friends. They cancelled and he was forced to go alone. “The experiences on this trip had a huge impact on me, and all of a sudden, travelling became my passion. My only other passion was cinema, especially films of SRK. So I find travelling to the locations where he’s shot to be a great way of combining both my passions,” explains the globe trotter.
And as most Khan fans, he’s obviously tried the actor’s trademark (stretched arms) pose. Many passers-by and new friends he made during his trips have patiently clicked pictures for him. Some people were even inspired by the pose and tried the same. Next on Shetty’s travel list is Wai in Maharashtra, where Swades was filmed. And once he’s done covering all the SRK spots, his next target is to visit places where Christopher Nolan has shot. “I have already been to where Interstellar , Inception , The Dark Knight Rises and Batman Begins were shot. My other favourite actor is Ranbir Kapoor. It will be fun to explore the locations of his movies as they often seem exotic,” he adds.
