When Shah Rukh Khan agreed to stand in for Aamir Khan at the Satyameva Jayate Water Cup in Pune, it was a rare gesture from one superstar to another. It was all over the news and rightly so, as Aamir and Kiran Rao were down with H1N1, or swine flu, and had to skip the event they had worked on all year around.

As most would remember, after Aamir had made that bashed statement about fearing for their lives and thinking about leaving the country, he had joined hands with the chief minister of Maharashtra to work towards water conservation to alleviate the frequent droughts in the state. At the press conference to announce his Pani Foundation - the Water Cup for the best village to work on measures to combat the state's severe droughts and the association of his Satyameva Jayate team with this NGO - nobody had dared bring up Aamir's statement, which was contrary to his joining hands with the same party-in-power that he'd criticised.

But that was the right thing for the media to do because some causes should rise above politics. Aamir's step may have been canny calculation but the cause needed a celebrity push and the actor-filmmaker's faultless meticulousness was welcome.

That the cause went beyond politics got an endorsement when the anti-Right-wing Aamir requested Shah Rukh to step into his place and do the honours in the presence of the BJP CM, Devendra Fadnavis. As is well-known, SRK is no Right-winger. Ideologically, he has always been a Congress supporter, close to Priyanka (Gandhi, not Chopra).

SRK is also one of the most gracious celebrity guests any organiser can hope to get, even better than Aamir in many ways. He is a better speaker, for instance, and he interacts with people with a charm and spontaneity all his own. It was evident at a recent telecast of Sa Re Ga Ma on Zee TV, where he charmed the pants off a range of children and their mothers. This graciousness comes naturally to him.

At the Pune event too, Shah Rukh was patience personified, giving five unhurried hours, much of which was in Marathi and soared above his head. Despite a career in Mumbai over 25 years, SRK's knowledge of the state language doesn't go much beyond nako (no).

Of course, his agreeing to replace Aamir wasn't only about dosti-yaari with a colleague. A few whispered that it was an extension of his promotion for Jab Harry Met Sejal, which released on August 4, two days before the Water Cup, that being all over the place would help his film (it didn't). The other whisper was that it helped the Khan score a brownie point with the CM, who has been actively involved with Aamir's project right from its inception. But these are lightweight reasons.

Personally, I am sure that Aamir himself would never have requested Shah Rukh to take his place had it not been a heavyweight, power event. And the importance didn't circle only around water and a CM. Nita Ambani and Reliance have been the backers and at the forefront of both Satyameva Jayate and his Pani project. And everybody knows how much power that connection wields for both the Khans. SRK, as we all know, is so close to Mukesh and Nita that on their daughter Isha's invitation, he flew to the US to deliver that fine lecture at Yale a few years ago.

Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians may clash on an IPL field but their owners are thick as thieves. SRK sent his kids to Nita's IB school and a few have used the star as the route to get admission for their children.

Interestingly, one hears that in deference to the mutually-beneficial friendship, Aamir too has shifted his son to Nita's school. Vive l'amitie. August 6 was Friendship Day.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author