Shah Rukh Khan 'stands in' for Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao at Water Cup

Mumbai: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has thanked star Aamir Khan and his wife Kiran Rao for letting him stand in for them at the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup, organised by the NGO Paani Foundation.

Aamir revealed that he and his wife Kiran were scheduled to attend the event held in Pune on Sunday, but couldn`t as they are down with swine flu. They addressed the gathering via Skype.

Shah Rukh shared a photograph of himself along with Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis.

"Thanks Aamir Khan and Kiran for giving me the honour to stand in for you. Devendra Fadnavis your concern for farmers is touching," Shah Rukh captioned the image. 

Aamir on a video call said: "It`s a happy day but we are very sad... because after working so hard for a year, when the time came for us to celebrate with you, we got this illness. And the disease we are suffering from is one which spreads rapidly. It`s called H1N1 or swine flu in common usage."

"The problem with swine flu is if I go anywhere, I will give it to other people, so we have been forced to stay at home for a week. And that is why we can`t be there with you and we`re very sad about it."

Creative director of MAMI Smriti Kiran too was present at the event with Anupama Chopra as Kiran Rao`s friend and collaborator on MAMI.

She posted on social media: "Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao both have swine flu, so couldn`t make it for the finale. Both plug into the event via Skype and say that today is Friendship Day, so they requested Shah Rukh Khan to represent them at the Paani Foundation Cup finale."

Among other guests at the event were Nita Ambani, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ashutosh Gowariker, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ram Madhvani and Nagraj Manjule.

Maharashtra is among states the worst-hit by swine flu, which has claimed the lives of over 300 people since January, including almost 150 during the current monsoon.

Among the affected regions are Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Nashik where many patients are also currently under treatment in various hospitals.