The man behind the mask!
Keith D’Costa
As Faye Dunaway once said, "What makes one a star? Hmm... Everything! Charisma - what I used to call the glow in drama school. Inner, emotional, physical energy - it goes beyond that and you can't control it."
The lady must have had Shah Rukh Khan in mind when she made the statement. However, he is a star. There is no doubt about that at all. And yet, to fathom Shah Rukh Khan, the human being, the friend, husband, future father, son and brother, is a different matter altogether. Probably because he is a full-blooded Scorpio - very possessive about his family, his secrets and his possessions...
Having known Shah Rukh Khan the star for some time, it has become my job, so to speak, to unmask the man behind the star. To expose the real Shah Rukh Khan. And I assure you, that is no easy task. When you get into a close relationship with a star, you get to know what the real person is like. You get to see him without that aura of a star, totally stripped of his star mannerisms and what you see in reality may be surprising or even shocking. Sometimes the two can be completely separate identities.
Like Sridevi, for example. As a star, she is irresistible but in reality she is your typical southern belle with big eyes and an accent. Whereas Shah Rukh has maintained a stable balance between the two. The line of demarcation is so devastatingly thin that you never really know when Shah Rukh is putting on a show. He is quite a dynamic guy. I prefer to put it this way because not only does he have my attention on screen or during my interviews, he has it even when we go to town together for an award function and he is just chatting. That is what I find so endearing.
Give Shah Rukh any subject and the man can talk about it. Even if he knows he is not an expert in the subject, he talks logically. Speaking of which, he is a pro at logistics. Nobody can argue with him about logic. To the extent that he could even sell ice cream to an Eskimo!
You can argue until you turn blue in the face but Shah Rukh will not give up. If you are not logical, he is cool. But if you are logical, you can bet your last rupee that you will never win. He told me so himself. "Nobody can beat me when we talk logically. Not even Gauri. That is what I had asked, 'Are you asking if we are arguing logically here'? If not, then it's okay."
Hey, this task is going to be excruciatingly awkward. When you get to know a star like Shah Rukh on a personal level, it's difficult to really pin him down. How do you catch a cloud and hold it down? You don't. You admire it from afar! Unfortunately, on this particular occasion, I am forced to shed the feelings, emotions and private moments.
Well, here I am, lingering on, going through what is printable and what remains a closely guarded secret. It's almost like taking the Hippocratic Oath. (An oath taken by doctors not to reveal confidential information about a patient) After all, you get to know a lot about his ups and downs, obsessions, moods, idiosyncrasies, habits, likes and dislikes.
As my little grey cells kick into gear, I realise that Shah Rukh is a star who has always managed to amaze and entertain me with what he does or says. I don't mean that he likes to shock. But yes, he says a lot for impact and with the idea of influencing... his fans, readers and me. Like when he said to me, "I savored my mother's death...", that sentence shocked me. He must have noticed my expression and even added, "You can use it as your headline too." I refrained. Call me sensitive or whatever, but Shah Rukh explained what he really meant, that he lived it as it happened. "That I lived every moment of it."
Though she did not use this bold statement as a headline, my editor was very concerned. She pleaded with me not to include such a statement as she felt that Shah Rukh had said it in passing. I was adamant as I knew why he had said it and what exactly he meant. Also, Shah Rukh knew that I would not sensationalise it unnecessarily or make a mountain out of a molehill like certain magazines would. That would bring us into disrepute too.
I remember another incident when we had quite a problem. Today Shah Rukh and I can laugh about it. What I will not forget is the sincerity with which he apologised. He personally came to my old place in Bandra late at night but could not find me. He returned an hour later and still found no one at my old place. Then he asked the neighbors and found out that I had moved. They were not willing to give him my new address. So he did the next best thing, called one of my colleagues and urged her to drop him off at my new place. Fortunately or unfortunately, she did not know my new address. So he apologized profusely to me through her and asked her to call him and meet him on his sets the next day. Which I did.
I must admit I was a little apprehensive, but Shah Rukh's sincerity touched me. He made me feel so warm and welcome, as if we were long lost friends meeting again after ages. I certainly felt that way because I had known Shah Rukh since the time he showed an interest in films. In fact, I had been curious about Shah Rukh since I first noticed him in Fauji on TV, back in the late 80s. I knew that our paths would cross one day, and that he would become a star to be reckoned with.
He was a reluctant star. With his success on the telly, producers and directors were lining up to sign Shah Rukh. People like Pehlaj Nihalani, Sultan Ahmed, Harry Baweja, Mahesh Bhatt. But Shah Rukh turned them all down. He was happy with what he was doing, which was serials and theatre. He had no interest in films, but when his mother passed away, Shah Rukh decided to give it a try. His friends Aziz Mirza, Kundan Shah and Viveck Vaswani convinced him and Shah Rukh came to Bombay. Within a day, he had signed three films: Hema Malini's Dil Aashna Hai, Rakesh Roshan's King Uncle and GP Sippy's Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman.
The opportunity to meet Shah Rukh came when my all-time favourite Hema Malini was starting her first directorial venture. The rest is history. I got to know a lot about Shah Rukh along the way. His career was just taking off when people were calling him an arrogant, loud-mouthed, brash, over-confident SOB (son of a bitch), and it didn't faze him.
Late one night a few years ago, as we sat on his patio sipping rum and Cokes, he analyzed those days. And I quote, "People say I'm arrogant, loud-mouthed, brash, over-confident. That I don't have a good physique. I'm not good-looking enough to be called sexy. I'm not a great actor, nor can I be called a boy next door. So the best thing to do was make me brash, arrogant and reckless. That's not who I am. When you get to know me better, you'll realize how down to earth I am. That I am different from any star."
Today, as I remember that evening on his terrace and all that he confided in me, I realize how true his words were. Fame has not affected him in any way. The man has not changed one bit. As he said then, "I don't like people assuming that because I'm a star I have to behave a certain way. Why should I? I have been successful on my own terms. It's been four years since you first met me. And in those four years, I have become successful by doing things the way I wanted to do them. That means I was right in whatever I did." Those same words hold true today.
Shah Rukh has certainly made it on his own terms. And yet, there was a time when industry bigwigs like Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai considered him too arrogant to work with. Now, all that has changed. Today, both directors adore Shah Rukh. They love working with him. Even Shah Rukh, who was intimidated by them back then, confessed, "During the initial stages of their film shoots, I would never have joked with them like I do today. The fact that I am not as naive as others made them feel that I was arrogant."
While all these people may label Shah Rukh, he refused to acknowledge it. To me, he will always be a normal human being who appreciates his little pleasures - his dog Chewbacca, his laser disc collection, his computer and his electronic gadgets.
Speaking of which, this star has retained a certain childlike quality. Which I, in turn, find quite endearing. Earlier this year, we were together in Dubai for a show sponsored by us - Cine Blitz Concert Promotions. Wherever he went, he was mobbed by his fans.
On our first day in Dubai, we went to the City Centre. As we entered the venue, poor Shah Rukh was mobbed. He patiently signed autographs, posed for photographs and shook hands. Finally, he managed to hide in a bookshop and was forced to browse it for an hour. Gauri and his sister Shahnaz went shopping. I headed for the Reebok outlet but quickly returned with my purchase. He admired my new shoes and said, "I wish I could do that too without being hassled. Gauri has to shop for me."
I was sad, here was a normal man who wanted to act normal but because of his profession, he had to hide like a criminal on the run.
Meanwhile, in the bookshop, I noticed him playing with some model cars on display. As far as I know, this is an old hobby of his! Since there were so many models, Shah Rukh didn't know which one to choose. Luckily, the girls arrived and we went back into hiding.
Later that day, Shah Rukh had to rehearse for the magic show. These rehearsals were held in the basement of the hotel. When I spotted a Coke machine, I went over to it, put a dirham in it and pulled out a Coke. Suddenly Shah Rukh appeared next to me, "Keith, do you have another Dirham?" Sure enough, I had one and pulled it out. I knew he wanted a Coke (his favorite). I was about to put the coin in the slot when Shah Rukh stopped me. "Hey, can I do that? I find it exciting." I gave him the coin, he slipped it in the slot, pressed the button and voila, he pulled out his Coke. Pulled out the ring and after a long sip said, "Man, that's cool. When I get my new house, I'm going to install a Coke machine just for me. If I have any guests, they'll have to get their own Coke."
That's what I like about Shah Rukh. Any other star would have asked the organiser to provide the drinks.
On one hand, you have this childlike, down-to-earth guy. But on the other, Shah Rukh is smart, sincere and very business-oriented in his dealings. As I had once written, Shah Rukh is like Napoleon Bonaparte, his favourite historical figure. Like Bonaparte, he is a paragon of contradictions. Shah Rukh is a star, but he has retained that childlike innocence. Even after five years in this industry and more than 20 releases, half of which have been successful, Shah Rukh is still bursting with energy. His passion is still there.
But unfortunately at a lower level. I am not saying that he is less passionate about his work. Not at all. In fact, films will always be his mistress. Even his wife Gauri will vouch for that. I had recently heard that she was pregnant. When I called to congratulate her, she laughed hysterically. "You met me the other day. Did I look pregnant? No! Since Shah Rukh is out of the house so much, spends most of his time outside, where is the opportunity to plan a baby? You know he is hardly ever at home."
Coming back to his films, yes, Shah Rukh does seem a bit disillusioned with what he is doing. As we drove into town together in his new Mercedes for the Giants awards ceremony, he confessed. "For how long can I keep doing the same thing? I have decided to reduce the number of films I am doing. Nobody wants to try anything new. When I signed Baazigar, everyone warned me not to do it, including Hemaji. But I did it and was successful. Today, everyone wants to do it, be it Nana Patekar or a newbie." Shah Rukh has become a trendsetter of sorts.
As a result of this lack of ideas, Shah Rukh plans to put together his own plot ideas. By getting filmmakers with a good track record and giving them his ideas. "And if I have to, I will personally go to Mani Ratnam and ask him to make a film with me." And right now, he is already making fewer films. The process of slowing down takes a lot of time. He has Subhash Ghai's Pardes, Rakesh Roshan's Koyla, Yash Johar's Duplicate, Aziz Mirza's Yes Boss, Venus' Badshah, Yash Chopra's Maine To Mohabbat Kar Li (Dil To Pagal Hai) and a few others.
So all you Shah Rukh fans, don't worry, you will be seeing a lot more of him!
Over the years that I have known Shah Rukh, I have realised that he is a real joker. He is always messing around or teasing Juhi Chawla and her boyfriend Jai, Karan Johar, his wife Gauri, Salman's costume designer Shabina, his crew members, his secretary Anwar, his make-up artist Ravi and his assistant Subhash. Even his directors like Mahesh Bhatt and Subhash Ghai. Whenever I am around, I have always seen the joker or prankster in Shah Rukh. God knows what made him a Scorpio, as most of his traits are terrible! Sagittarius!
Of course, he has an irritable nature. Which, given a good reason, can explode. And why not? He is just a human being like you and me, although I must admit that Shah Rukh is cooler today compared to when he was new in the industry. I have to give some credit to Gauri for calming him down. And the impact on Shah Rukh has been tremendous. Anger has always been an emotional outlet for Shah Rukh. There is always a lot of anger mixed with pain. When he gets angry or loses his temper, it would be the pain that would make him explode and retaliate.
Letting go of his emotions is definitely something Shah Rukh has learnt to control. He is much calmer today. In fact, he comes across as a sort of cross between the mysterious James Dean and the charismatic, talented Sanjeev Kumar.
Boiling down what little I know about Shah Rukh Khan the star and Shah Rukh Khan (that is his real name) the man, I will end with his words. A summary of all that I have written down. "I am who I am. I want to think of myself as a happy, carefree, good person. You can also add sweet and charming!”
Need I say more?