Shah Rukh Khan The Good Samaritan

Shah Rukh Khan is playing Good Samaritan again.

The actor has rushed to financially help a Kashmiri Pandit refugee family, the Rainas. The family met with a dangerous car accident while travelling from Jammu to Delhi.

The eldest member of the Raina family died on the spot, while her son Deepak Raina, daughter-in-law Neenu Raina and their two-year-old daughter were seriously injured. The family is admitted in Delhi's Apollo Hospital. Neenu is currently in coma, while Deepak is critical and the child has almost lost all senses in the lower half of her body.

Social activist cum film director Ashoke Pandit learnt about Raina's misery and immediately sent a text message to Shah Rukh. Pandit confirms and says, "When I came to know about the predicament of the Raina family, I immediately messaged Shah Rukh about the sorry financial status of this family. Raina is a middle class family, and the cost of their treatment is going to be enormous."

Pandit says, "Shah Rukh promptly called me up and offered to help in whatever way possible. Within two days, I received a cheque from Gauri Khan (Shah Rukh's wife) pledging their support to the family."

When asked about the amount that Shah Rukh contributed to help the Raina family recover, Pandit says that he would not like to disclose the amount. "Let's not talk about that. Shah Rukh has helped enough. His moral and financial support does not need numbers," Pandit says.

Incidentally, this is not the first time Shah Rukh has responded to Pandit's call. Pandit says, "A few months ago, I sent him a similar message to help me with the treatment of a 10-year-old suffering from cancer. The child's single mother could not afford the medical expenses. Even though Shah Rukh was not in India that time, he immediately volunteered to help. Unfortunately, the child passed away before the treatment. Later, Shah Rukh himself called me to ask about the child. When I told him that the child was no more, he was terribly disheartened that he could do nothing to save the child."

“This gesture by Shah Rukh is an inspiration for me to continue helping people in distress. I must add here that the NGOs who are objecting to Shah Rukh's smoking in public are wasting their time. Instead, they should appeal to the government to ban cigarettes and liquor," Pandit adds.

We sent a text message to Shah Rukh, but he chose to remain silent.

Vickey Lalwani & Kunal.M.Shah, Mumbai Mirror