There are a few stories in Bollywood that exist in the no man’s land between reality and legend. They usually begin with the words “it is said” or “I read it somewhere once”. One such story happens to be about Shah Rukh Khan, his dream and the city of Mumbai. Legend has it that a long time ago, way before he became the superstar that he is today, Khan stood on Marine Drive, looked across the sea at the setting sun and declared: “I’ll rule this city one day”.

In interview after interview, the ever grateful and humble SRK has maintained that he is who he is today because a lot of people came together to ease his path when he needed it most. In the video segment below, Khan speaks about his “life mentors” who gave him a place to stay in Mumbai when he didn’t have a roof over his head. He emotionally recalls how even the biggest of celebrities, including the evergreen Hema Malin, imparted nuggets of wisdom to him so that he’d be able to make better choices in life.

Khan has himself spoken words of wisdom. We catalogue a few of them:

(Photo credits: Getty Images)