Turkish actor Hande Erekal is making headlines in India, after his appearance at the Joy Awards in Riyadh on January 17. Recent viral claims include a screenshot suggesting that she called Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan ‘chacha’ in a series of Instagram stories. After days of speculation and social media debate, the actor has finally addressed the situation to put the rumors to rest once and for all.

Ever since the awards ceremony took place, a clip started circulating online suggesting that Hande Erel was also one of the many fans of Shah Rukh Khan. In reality, she was simply recording her friend Amina Khalil, who was co-hosting the program, but the footage was immediately misinterpreted. Shortly after, a screenshot surfaced which was taken from Hande’s Instagram stories, which read: “Who is this uncle? I was just filming @aminakhalilofficial, I’m not a fan of his!! Please stop spreading false information!!”

An X user shared the screenshot and claimed, “Shah Rukh Khan had gone to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to host the Joy Awards 2026. A clip of Turkish actress Hande Erel went viral in which Shah Rukh was on the stage. Reports were made that Hande is a fangirl of Shah Rukh Khan, but she denied even knowing Shah Rukh and called him uncle.” Ercel replied to her post and captioned it, “This is fake,” putting an end to it all.

Fans of both Shahrukh and Hande reacted to his comment. “We will always be here to protect you, I’m so sorry you had to go through this, my love,” one of her fans wrote. “So shameful…sorry on behalf of these jokers,” an ex user wrote, while a SRK fan wrote, “Imagine waking up everyday to lies being told about SRK and still getting fact checked by the person you dragged into this.”

JoyAwards in Riyadh, in 2026 King The actor walked the lavender carpet while standing amid international entertainment celebrities including Millie Bobby Brown and Katy Perry.

Talking about work front, Shahrukh will next be seen in director Siddharth Anand’s film. King. The upcoming action-thriller is co-produced by Marflix Entertainment and Red Chillies Entertainment. The film also stars Suhana Khan (Shahrukh Khan’s daughter), Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukherjee, Abhay Verma, Jaideep Ahlawat, Abhishek Bachchan, Jackie Shroff and others in lead roles.

King Tentatively scheduled for a theatrical release on Gandhi Jayanti 2026.