In September, actor Shah Rukh Khan sent off the Indian athletes participating in the 3rd Asian Para Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. Yesterday, on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, he backed up his support for the athletes by donating 50 wheelchairs to the athletes.
The actor's charity organization, Meer Foundation, worked with athlete Deepa Malik, a 2016 Paralympic champion with a silver medal in the shot put, and her foundation, Wheeling Happiness, to make it happen.
"It has been a privilege knowing and associating with Deepa for a cause as virtuous as this. She is not just an inspiration to many but also a reflection of ourselves as we all are incomplete in one way or the other, and it is for us to embrace our imperfections and achieve our goals. Felicitating these para-athletes is a step forward in achieving the dream of representing India at the Paralympics," the actor was quoted in the daily tabloid Mumbai Mirror.
Incidentally, in Khan's upcoming film, Zero (2018), directed by Aanand L Rai, Anushka Sharma plays a NASA scientist, Aafia, who has cerebral palsy.
In Rahul Rawail's Anjaam (2014), Khan played a villainous character, Vijay, who is paralysed after a car accident in trying to win over the love of a married woman, Shivani, played by Madhuri Dixit.
Zero (2018), which also co-stars Katrina Kaif, is due to be released on 21 December.