Bollywood: An Insider’s Guide
Copyright – Fuad Omar 2006.
The following interview was conducted in May 2002 and was one of the most requested for reprint by fan sites, readers and Shah Rukh fans.
Shah Rukh Khan: From India With Love!
Shah Rukh Khan is one of India's biggest superstars and this summer he will be visiting the biggest venues in London and Manchester for a spectacular live show, an event that will promote Indian cinema on a worthy occasion. Meeting Shah Rukh is always more than a pleasure, it is an experience. Seeing him perform on stage is a totally different experience.
When I meet Shah Rukh, he has lost weight since I last saw him and looks slim, which makes me wonder if he eats properly. "I lost it for Devdas," he tells me as we sit down and spend a little time catching up, having just stepped off a plane and into a press blitz. If he's tired, he doesn't show it, but then again, you never know with Shah Rukh. He's always this bundle of energy that inspires others and once again he comes to our shores to sing, dance and talk about his favorite subject: Indian cinema.
India With Love is Bollywood's biggest event in the UK and is set to be a once in a lifetime experience. When Shah Rukh came here with Aamir in 1995, his concerts were the talk of the town for years and remain a crowd favourite to this day. Two years ago he returned in a visual spectacle that saw him descend on stage breathing fire and present a home-made parody of the Indian film industry, pioneering live-on-stage storytelling infused with songs from his most popular films. Last year he single-handedly brought London to a standstill when he came here for the premiere of Asoka, winning fans from everyone from Jonathon Ross to David Fincher, so it's little surprise that his arrival this time around is nothing less than the announcement of a huge event.
"I was sitting on the plane and I read Mr Bachchan's interview in which he said that it was a great honour to perform in Hyde Park. I usually play in Hyde Park with my son with the Ducks!" he begins when I ask what it is like to perform on an open air stage that is much bigger than the one he has graced before in this country.
"I was blown away that I was going to perform there, it's a very big event in front of so many people, a major institution and for a great cause, the Prince's Trust charity. I was sitting on the plane thinking about all of this and for me too it's just like you mentioned, to come and breathe fire again!
I don't like to differentiate between the audiences of different venues, I just want to come and do things with all my heart. I want to come and give my best and just have a lot of fun on stage. Yes, sure there will be a language barrier because this is a show for both Asians and non-Asians, there is a cultural barrier and a location barrier because we have never performed there, but I don't want to think about it. I just want to focus on doing what I do best and give it my all and I am sure Mr. Bachchan and Aamir feel the same."
If there is one man who has pushed the barrier that has kept Indian cinema away from the acceptance and recognition it has long deserved and is ready to break it, it is Shah Rukh Khan. He has appeared on almost every popular and alternative television show and spoken to the international press so many times, explaining the ethos and essence of Indian cinema, converting many along the way to the truth that cinema is cinema no matter what language it speaks. Aware of the associations and setting of the show, and that it is aimed at a wider audience than just the hardcore Asian fans, he is ready to be involved in a landmark project once again.
"We're going to focus on maybe doing one or two elements in English or speaking more English, which will be the live pedant to watching a Hindi film with subtitles, so the other audiences don't feel left out, but enjoy it just as much and take home memories of those five people who came and sang and jumped and danced and gave it the best they had. And not only will we hopefully take a part of London with us, but those who watch the event will also keep a part of Asian cinema in their hearts."
Since time immemorial, Shah Rukh has always looked up to and idolised Amitabh Bachchan. He knew everything about him and even bought the same aftershave as him, making it his favourite. When you look up to someone for so long, one day you outgrow it as you achieve your own successes and overcome your own mountains, but Shah Rukh explains that for him, the man who changed the history of Indian cinema and is a living legend will always be someone he is proud to look up to.
"If you take away Aishwarya and Preity, I am the lowest of the guys, so I don't think I can come close to Mr Bachchan or Aamir in terms of their achievements. I have never worked with Aamir in a film, but I know him very well. I have worked with Mr Bachchan in a few films and there has always been a desire to just stand there and let him do his stuff and his shine will cast a shadow on me, which is very beautiful in itself. I am just honoured to be on the stage with Mr Bachchan and Aamir and to be part of that, that in itself is a very big achievement for me."
"I was doing a show in New York with Mr Bachchan and Govinda and I got a last minute call and flew out and rehearsed a little in the afternoon. What came across from working with him was that although I used to think that I was very passionate and very hard working, with a lot of attention to detail, when you work with Mr Bachchan you realise that every time he is like a nervous kid doing his first show, his first play at school, I think that is a quality that makes him very endearing. More than the character or the magnitude of his acting or the amazing kind of control he has, that is the side that everyone sees, but even more amazing than that is the way that every time he gives a dialogue or comes on stage, he acts as if it is the first curtain call of a school play, that is a rare manner. So I will just go and react to whatever he does, like I did in Mohabbatein and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.”
A live experience, unlike the cinema, is a much more personal interaction with the audience. Shah Rukh may have been told by certain sections of the press that his Asoka was not playing, but the international audience in each cinema said otherwise. When the lights go down and the mic is on, all he knows is that thousands of eyes are on him, something very different and more personal than the direct reaction a film can generate. When I ask him about the experience of performing live, I spot the gleam in Shah Rukh's eyes as he enthusiastically reveals the nirvana of being on stage.
"I've always been more of a theater actor than a film actor, and what we do on stage now is different, whereas theater was more serious. It's 50 percent like a rock concert. People say you go and dance at weddings and private parties, and my view is that when I come and perform here, it's also like a wedding or a celebration, only it's in New York or London or Australia or wherever. And I know for the Asians gathered there, it's a great moment of pride that someone has come from abroad and is doing what they would like to do in their homes but can't do because of the rhythm of life here or the position of life in a Western country, far from their homeland. When people cheer, you can feel it, it's like they're saying, 'Whatever you're doing, we really like it' and it reminds them of home, so that's what it's about whenever I do something live, the return of that warmth. It's not about how many people are there, or how loudly they clap, or how much they've paid, it's up to me to put in the effort at that point to say 'you invited me to your party, I'm going to do my best to make sure you go home feeling like you had a great time'. That's my whole attitude to the shows; it's about having fun and creating a feeling of happiness. When a show is over I'm really tired and my knees hurt, but I gain something on stage and wish I could go on all night, I get so much out of a live show."
Abruptly carried away by him as he describes the experience, I try to imagine the sea of faces that will all be mesmerized and chanting his name this June, cheering alongside their favourite stars who bring the magic of India… with love. The magic of the movies is irreplaceable and as Shah Rukh goes on to explain, he hopes that he can simply introduce audiences to a spark of that magic and pass on the warmth that exists on the silver screen.
"I think magic cannot be recreated, it just happens. You cannot plan it and go into so much detail and say that this show will be emblematic of Indian cinema and what it is about. I think already because of people like you, because of the films that come here and the curiosity that surrounds our films and the fact that our country produces the largest number of films in the world, all of that contributes to the attitude that this cinema can become part of my life. It is not about a fad or forty-two days of Bollywood, it is about the essence and I hope that it will really become part of people's lives. So that if you go to Leicester Square and see a Quentin Tarantino or Spike Lee film, you could also see an Indian film. It will take time and we will probably get there slowly, but this show will hopefully give you a taste of the warmth of Indian cinema and show you how different it is and you will discover that it is very different to a rock concert or anything else you have seen on stage. They would never expect Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro or George Clooney to come on stage and start dancing, so they have to be aware of the fact that in our films there are songs and that is why we can play this double role. If we didn't have songs, we wouldn't have what we have in live shows, we could just come and talk and deliver dialogues. People will need a little time to understand that a film star in India is not just a film star, he is a rock star, an action star and a singing star, he is everything in one, he is a walking variety machine. It will take them a while to understand but I hope we are able to make them aware that this is how Indian culture and cinema works."
As I am told my time is almost up, I thank Shah Rukh for once again giving me much more than I expected, and that is the real miracle that those who come to Bollywood's biggest live event can expect: the unexpected. His list is the best films of recent times, and the spark in his eyes suggests that this is just the beginning.
"I am very proud to be part of some of these films and also very proud that Devdas is now going to Cannes. It is great to see good cinema from India and to be recognised as reflected by the faxes and emails and Inshallah we will be able to explain Indian cinema better to them."
You have been warned. Shah Rukh Khan is coming to town and this time he is a man with a mission.