Raees: In Mahira Khan's Absence, Sunny Leone Took The Train With Shah Rukh Khan

New Delhi: Actress Sunny Leone's role in Shah Rukh Khan's Raees lasts for the duration of a song but it is she who got to take the train with him, not Pakistani actress Mahira Khan who plays the female lead. Shah Rukh Khan boarded the August Kranti Express in Mumbai Central at 5.40pm on Monday. He reached Delhi's Nizamuddin station at 10.45 am on Tuesday and somewhere in between, Sunny Leone was revealed to be on the train with him, Raees director Rahul Dholakia and producer Ritesh Sidhwani. SRK will be promoting Raees in New Delhi - presumably Sunny will be with him. Here's Sunny Leone on the train with Shah Rukh Khan and Team Raees:
 

Train ride!! Almost to the final stop! Most amazing journey! @RaeesTheFilm @DanielWeber99 @yofrankay @911Yusuf pic.twitter.com/IdeP5kG1F8

— Sunny Leone (@SunnyLeone) January 24, 2017

Sunny Leone also promoted Raees on last weekend's episode of Bigg Boss 10 with Shah Rukh Khan and host Salman Khan. They enacted a scene from Deewar and she danced to her song Laila Main Laila, the Zeenat Aman remix that is Sunny's only appearance in Raees.
 
Mahira Khan, who makes her Bollywood debut in Raees, is not promoting the film on account of being Pakistani. Last year, Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was opposed by Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena which objected to the casting of Pakistani star Fawad Khan. After Ae Dil Hai Mushkil eventually released, SRK was pictured meeting Raj Thackeray. That Mahira was not going to be dropped from the film was clarified by Raees producers Excel Entertainment but it appeared that the actress would not be involved in promotions.

Mahira Khan, who plays SRK's character Raees Alam's wife in the movie, told Pakistani publication Dawn that she was upset. "I also want to promote the film. I also want to be in an interview with Shah Rukh Khan talking about it. Why not? Why is it I get told that that's asking for too much? It isn't! It is my right. This was also my film," she said in a recent interview.

That train has left the station, however.

Raees, in which Shah Rukh Khan plays a boot-legger and Nawazuddin Siddiqui a cop, opens tomorrow.