Actress, director, and cultural icon Renuka Shahane recently appeared on the podcast ‘InControversial with Pooja Chaudhri’, opening up about her iconic beginnings, personal love story, and strong views on language, identity, and respect, offering an honest, heartfelt conversation that’s already sparking conversation online.

“Shah Rukh is the Kind of Professional Everybody Should Dream to Be”

While many know Shahane as Salman Khan’s beloved bhabhi in Hum Aapke Hain Koun, few remember that she also shared screen space with Shah Rukh Khan in his early television days.

“You are the one who's recognized as being his first heroine on screen with Shah Rukh Khan back in Circus. And that's something that sort of stayed along with you,” the host noted.

Renuka recalled the experience fondly: “his attitude towards work, is absolutely fabulous. Actually, Shah Rukh is the kind of professional that everybody should dream to be…And second is his treatment of everybody on the set. He's such a gracious person. He makes no distinction between a spot person and a producer or a director, actor - nothing. His relationships on the set are on that equal level, when the star does that, the entire set feels invigorated.”

Love on a Landline: “We Fell in Love Over the Phone” – Renuka Shahane on husband Ashutosh Rana

Speaking about her relationship with acclaimed actor Ashutosh Rana, Shahane shared how the foundation of their romance was built on a strong friendship, deep conversations and mutual respect — not glitz and glamour.

“When I met Rana, I was really very, very taken by the fact that I could converse with him… We fell in love over the phone. That time we didn’t have, you know, kind of — it was landline and good old MTNL.”

Despite their contrasting personalities and cultural backgrounds, she adds, “Even though we are like chalk and cheese… we were comfortable. It’s that feeling of finding a companion you want to spend the rest of your life with. And make a happy home with.”

On the ‘Speak Marathi’ Movement: “It’s About Respect”

As a proud Maharashtrian, Renuka Shahane also voiced her strong views on linguistic inclusivity and cultural respect, especially in Mumbai.

“If you are in a place for a very long time, it's a good thing to understand the local language, the local culture and be respectful more than anything else...

It's not about the speaking of it much more than the intention of wanting to, you know, respect it. I do not like people who do not feel the necessity to be accommodating of the local language and local culture.

I do not like violence at all, you know; I do not like the fact that people can be rude about it. Going into a place where Marathi is not spoken and just slapping two or three people, it's not going to help the language in any way.”