In a candid conversation with PRAKRITI ROY, Bollywood badshah SHAH RUKH KHAN, opens up about his journey as an actor and producer, and about reviving the Kajol-SRK romance on screen
What would you say is your greatest achievement in BollywoodIJ
I don’t look back upon what I’ve achieved or done. Because if you look back upon what you’ve done, you either become static or you start living off the laurels or failures you’ve had. I’ve never worked for posterity or prosperity. My logic is that everybody should like you, not just a particular set of people. Now, even my awards have been sent to the office; I don’t remember which award I got when but that doesn’t mean I disrespect it. I just need to do a lot more and I keep doing it. So I’ve never thought of any achievements I’ve got. I’m not being modest when I say that I’ve not done anything yet.
How do you deal with failures you face in life and workIJ
The moment and tomorrow are more important. Work defines me and I like it. The only way you can master time is by passion. life is not ever going to be perfect, it’s not a utopian concept. It’s not like a fantastic ad made by God. It’s going to have its adversities and irregularities; and within that if you can adapt and live life, that’s the best way to live I feel.
You are India’s biggest brand and one of the few actors who understand the business of cinema. Yet you have never tried to build an image of yourself.....
I never actually decided to be someone different or sold myself as a brand. I am me and that’s the brand. If you like it, take it. I’ve never forced myself upon anyone. I won’t even tell my children to become like me. Yes I smoke. I have maximum amount of frailties. But I don’t sell my frailties, I sell myself through the work I do. I try to be effusive and happy about what I do. If you want to put my branding in one line — “I want to bring smiles”.
Many names and titles have got attached to you...
Yes, people call me efficient, great, marketing genius, entrepreneur — all these are just names that have got attached to me. But other things like ‘gaytard’ also get attached. But neither of that is true. So you can call me what you want, I’ll still smell as sweet.
How does the media affect you now, especially social mediaIJ
It is more immediate now, more relevant in terms of timing. But because of the immediacy, the importance of the news may get subdued. Yesterday, I was telling a journalist that breaking news is not as important as news. On social media, it’s all about fun and gossip; you can say whatever you feel like. There is also an advantage there that it can be used to update stories.
Coming to Dilwale, did you consider anyone apart from Kajol for that roleIJ
Sofia lauren! She was dying to do it. But then I just looked at a picture of Kajol and said that it has to be her. (laughs). But actually there was no alternative. If she didn’t like the films, I don’t know if we had a second choice. Her role in the film is very important, the film moves because of it. Also, it’s not just a ‘love story’ love story, it’s a more in-your-face commercial film. Somewhere, Karan (Johar) and other directors have told me “Kajol and Shah Rukh miley toh pyaar ho gaya.” We can’t really have endless romantic scenes rightIJ
Your respect for your co-actresses is a well-known fact. In that spirit, would you like to work more often with the so-called senior actresses in your filmsIJ
See, you don’t cast people because of seniority or respect or love, you cast them because they fit the film. That is the first truism of film-making. I cast them because they suit the film and character. Even though Kajol is my best friend and I love to work with her, she should not do the film if she doesn’t like it or she doesn’t suit the role. It would be lovely to be Kajol-Shah Rukh in a film, but it has actually happened with us that I’ve told her not to pick roles opposite me. Having said that, it is a male-dominated industry everywhere in the world. It is unfortunate that a 50 year-old James Bond is okay but not an actress of the same age. I call this a ‘youth fixation’. I think youth is wasted on youngsters, they should see some older people. There are so many talented people who, I hope, get to make some great films instead of not-so-telling comebacks.
Is it better to work with people you are comfortable withIJ
Depends, it can go either way. For instance, I am glad I did a different film like My Name Is Khan with Karan. Sometimes, you need that feeling of comfort to try something different. The person you work with has to be the person who takes the best out of you. Sometimes, it’s good to do a Maneesh Sharma. He loves me more than any of my directors and idolises me but that makes him an even greater filmmaker for me. He still makes me do 35 takes saying that he’s not getting the Shah Rukh Khan he loves.
Your next films, Raees and Fan are looking very different from what you’ve been doing. Is it a bit of a riskIJ
I will explain that to you. When you are a producer and investing `150 crore in a film (like Ra.One or Happy New Year or Dilwale), that itself is a risk. The reason is that you’re spending 150-200 days to make a film, it’s not playing safe when making a Ra.One. You’re putting in a huge amount of technology which is not appreciated in this country in the first go. Actually, even I can’t afford to make these films but I took those risks as a producer to try to change the scape. The risks I have taken with Baazigar, Darr, Raees or Fan, these are not risks at all! I am an actor, I do whatever I am called upon to do so. That’s actually creative. In fact, people can find that risky.
If I really wanted to be safe, I would have never become a producer and start a company like Red Chillies. I am saying it now when I’m 50, I will find out when I’m 60 whether the risk of starting Red Chillies was worth it or will it destroy me. I am already Shah Rukh Khan, I’ve earned a lot of money, a lot of fame. What is it that will keep me awakeIJ The risk is to create something new in the industry. Inshallah, I will come unscathed with Red Chillies.
Red Chillies expanded into distribution with Dilwale...
We are turning into a studio by becoming distributors. The point is not to earn that extra money that we give to the distributor, but to have a creative distribution of the film. A film doesn’t just need to be produced and directed with love and creativity, but also to be released creatively. It has to be done from the inception of the idea till it reaches the final consumer. You have to control it creatively so that people get the right idea of the beautiful you’ve made.
If a political party wants to steal your line ‘rang de tu mohe gerua’, is it okay with youIJ
People should steal my lines. I am the greatest endorser of ideas and dreams in this country (laughs). Chidambaramji had said once, “Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost.” Someone else said, “Haarke jeetne wale ko baazigar kehte hai.” Once I have said something, it is free for the world! I want no patent on it.
On hindsight, do you regret your intolerance commentIJ
I did not write anything to defend myself on Twitter because the 140 characters limit my intelligence. But here is what I actually wrote on my 50th birthday. Everything around us is a play of forces, none of which is more real than the other. Public life allows each person to pin his ideas on to us or me, and it is those ideas and their fulfillment that is dear to them, not us. In living such a life, it becomes clear that the angry rants, the praises (thank you for the love), the intellectual reasoning (are welcome and thank God somebody’s doing it), but mostly the mindless feeding off; none of it is real in a sense. Just as the fruits of your work are not real and failures are not real. The only thing that is real is your union with your purpose. You doing the work is real... I am my work.... We have more important purposes to achieve like being gentle, beautiful and brave, instead of just raving and ranting.”