Shah Rukh’s boldest expose on himself
Keith D’Costa
He's cool ... he's hot ... a contradiction? 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'!
Hindustani in heart. What does that mean? The answer: Shah Rukh Khan, the 34-year-old star from over 27 films, has the presence of a lead wolf that makes his kind bite the grass! From a Bollywood point of view, he's the box office badshah! And the man of the millennium!
In a dialogue with Shah Rukh, he reveals his true feelings, his dreams, his triumphs, his fear and his pain.
“I've been in this industry for nine years. How the time flies! And yet I feel like I've only been here a few years. The first time I worked with Juhi, I thought, 'Oh god, she's been here for three to four years'. How quickly those nine years have passed. I still feel like a newcomer, ”he asserts as we catch him in a godforsaken studio in Jogeshwari. It's 11 p.m., a cold December night, and Shah Rukh is in the middle of shooting a shampoo commercial.
Shah Rukh has come a long way since Fauji and Circus. As he puts it, “Personally, it's been very fulfilling. There has been a lot of hard work, madness, stress, chaos, problems, lack of sleep, fighting, disagreements, and unfortunate incidents. These were the best elements, the moments I lived for and the most beautiful part of my life.
What the people out there see is the glamor and the fame. These are not the good parts of my life. My world is so chaotic, crazy and creative. Only when you are in it will you understand it. For the outside world, it's the bungalow, the cars, the parties, the black suits, the tinsel, the hype, the cover stories. I am happy that it all happened. "
Because of his superstar status, aren't the normal little things in life neglected? “I don't do little things! I never ate pav bhaji on a chow patty. It would be romantic to say, yes, I've lost the simple joys in life. But my joy in life would be to get that one expression or that one step right. Or being able to make a movie that fails the same day. To cry in the plane that flies me to the premiere. I haven't lost anything in life.
I've never said this before because I think nazar lag jayega (I want to start looking), but I've had a great life. Nine years in this industry ... I couldn't have asked for more. I love the admiration, the crowds, the fact that people love me, I get to do what I like to do. I love the fact that I am entertaining people. That I have such a wonderful family and that I make good movies. The fact that I'm alive and doing all these things. "
Would his life have been different if his parents had been there? Especially his mother, whom he was so close to. Shah Rukh is thinking and his eyes speak volumes. “I suspect I wouldn't have come to Mumbai to be a movie hero. I would probably have become a teacher. I would go to film school and do commercials. ”Making commercials is something he always wanted to do.
When his mother passed away, he was already doing series. “I only came to Mumbai to escape the grief over my mother's death. I haven't returned since, so to speak. Maybe life would not have changed had she been there, or maybe it would. "
Whether or not his life would have changed, I'm sure his parents would have been delighted with their son's success story. Shah Rukh agrees, “You would have been very happy for me. In a way, I'm sure they made it happen. Like many children, I believe that my mom is a star that looks down on me from the sky. That may sound strange, but whenever I'm happy or sad, I go out on my terrace and look at that star. I also know when he's happy and when he's sad. Right now I can see it blinking happily.
I am a very big star. I don't deserve to be such a big star or to be in that position. All because my parents are looking after me. My dad wasn't that energetic so it has to be mom. Every happy occasion makes me sad because I wish mom were still here. How much I wish she was here today. "
A wife can help balance the scales of emotion, but she cannot fill in the void a mother leaves. Fortunately, Gauri has been a part of Shah Rukh's life for the past 15 to 16 years. "She's a part of me. Or rather, I am like her appendage. I do not want to demean or uplift her status by calling her or comparing her to my mother. Gauri is a completely different person. Sometimes much more than what my mother would have been. Gauri is way beyond that. So there is a little world around me and there is a galaxy. All of that is spanned by Gauri, including my mom and her star. All."
Over the years, Gauri must have made many sacrifices to adapt to a celebrity's lifestyle and to keep up with the hectic pace of Shah Rukh. “Our relationship is not based on how much we've done for each other. You can still judge how much we have given each other. It's beyond all of that, it's more spiritual. It's more than a physical love story. Gauri and I live together, not for each other. If Gauri made sacrifices or adapted, she didn't tell me. If she had told me, you can't call it a sacrifice, but an obligation. I could be messing around with how much I love Gauri, but we're way beyond that.
Sometimes when she's out of the house I have the feeling that without Gauri there is nothing. Without Gauri there is no life, no home, no fame, no child, no happiness, no society. I can't say that she is my support or my solid rock. Aryan wouldn't be here without Gauri. I cannot explain the happiness I feel when they are there. It's wonderful, and all because of Gauri. "
Despite his hectic schedule and chaotic lifestyle, Shah Rukh always finds the time to play the doting father. No schedule begins without Shah Rukh playing an hour with his son Aryan. “Aryan wakes up between half past seven and eight in the morning. I spend a couple of hours with him and then rush to my shoot. When I'm near the house, in the Mehboob Studio, I'll go back for lunch. In the evening I come back around half past eight, ten o'clock and we play until half past eleven. I play with him until he falls asleep and try to sleep with him. "
Now that Aryan is two, it's time for a sister. “Inshallah! I wish we had a daughter too. I would like to have a girl, but it wouldn't matter if we had another boy. At the time we were expecting Aryan, Gauri wanted a boy and I wanted a girl. We had a boy and I love Aryan more than Gauri. "
When you see father and son together, you can't tell who is younger. “We play a lot together. We share the grasshopper. We even share his little car. He drives it and so do I. Sometimes I push it and then he pushes it again. Sometimes we play playfully and we play with my Superman. He plays with it as much as I do. I've collected a ton of balls for him and he loves to play with them. Aryan also likes to dance to my songs. We have pillow fights and love jumping around on the bed. We're pretty crazy when we're together. "
And drive Gauri crazy with it! “Yes,” he admits. “She leaves us alone. There is no one between us when we play. If someone comes, Aryan will have a fit of anger. 'Hey, Papa ke saat hain' (I'm with Papa). He sings, dances and speaks a lot. Aryan is very quick. He even speaks well on the phone and manages to have a full conversation. ”
And Aryan was supposed to start the morning after our talk with kindergarten. Even though he works around the clock, “I'll take him there on his first day. Fortunately, the kindergarten is in Bandra. "
A gift from God that Shah Rukh never fails to appreciate is his high energy levels. “I never get tired. Everyone has different levels of energy and exhaustion. I can go home at four in the morning after a long day of filming and squeeze my wife's head when she needs it. I can go home and play with my child when he is awake. And I will still be awake and filming, meeting eight people myself and still feeling full of energy. Today I only met two people. I'll go back at midnight after work and do some editing. Still, I'll report to the set at seven tomorrow morning.
“Gauri and my friends tell me not to talk about it because they think it's the greatest gift God has given me. I am excited about life. Nobody understands this. You live once, so you need to take advantage of it as best you can. Very often Juhi and Aziz force me to go home and sleep when I feel like I can handle it. "
Apparently, Shah Rukh is referring to his new film Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. With 27 films behind us, this seems like a smart move. Still, Shah Rukh feels that it was not a planned move. “Everyone thinks there was a big plan and that I'm very clever. I've never done anything intellectually, but always instinctively. Ever since we started working together in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, we have become something of a family. Regardless of what people thought of it and the kind of relationship we had, we planned to make a movie after Yes Boss.
During this time we turned to Ratan Jain of Venus. Unfortunately they were too tense with Mela, Dhadkan, Josh and Badshah. So we decided to prepare the story and wait for Venus. While we were waiting and working, someone spoke to Aziz and wanted to produce the film. Since he was a construction worker, we asked him why he wanted to make a film. His answer was, 'Why not! I have Aziz Mirza, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. It is a marketable project '! We were surprised. Here stood an outsider who was willing to put his money on us, and we experienced people didn't believe in us.
One morning Aziz called me and said he was going to produce the film. I went into it. Then he felt bad and asked if I would be his partner. I agreed. Then he said, 'How can we leave mom out? We will also have Juhi as a partner '! That's how we became partners.
Our friends, like Jay and others, added that if we became partners, we would have to open a company. So they tackled the legal aspects of starting a business. I suggested the name Dreamz Unlimited. It's that simple. My entry into film production was not an intended or planned business venture. It was something we wanted to do and I'm glad we're here. "
Several friends tuned in to help with their first venture. Aside from Jay Mehta, Gauri Khan and Bobby Chawla (Juhi's brother), there were Yash and Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra, Farah Khan, Santosh Sivan, Haroon Mirza and Zaheer. “We were very fortunate to have so many good friends who helped us. We were like one big happy family. Yash Johar, who had the biggest hit, takes care of the production and works like an obsessive man. Aditya Chopra shot a song for us. Karan designed the costumes with Manish Malhotra and coordinated the color of the sets himself. Farah didn't charge us anything for her work. Everyone gave their last for us. This is a fact that is not that common in the industry. We're like a group of newcomers who want to make a movie, and that's how we do it.
Why Juhi? Shah Rukh replied, “Why not Juhi? Is it because Juhi is a girl or an actress? ”
My consideration was that apart from one of my favorites, Hema Malini, no other actress dared to become involved in film production. “Juhi is a big star. Do people think they won't be interested in filmmaking? People shouldn't think that way. Our company logo is Dreamz Unlimited - and why not! We want to make our kind of films and we are all very close to each other. Regardless of what people think this bond is, we take great pride in being close. They need to understand that we are people who like one another. Fortunately, we happen to be in the same area. So why shouldn't we make films together?
We want to make our way of making films, in our own style. We're not very aggressive or stubborn. You know Juhi and me very well. We don't say, 'Hey listen, we're going to do this' like some people do. We respond to what people say. We are well behaved. That's why it's our film, whether it's a hit or not. It's our dream. "
By defending Juhi, Shah Rukh tells me that she is very business-minded and even put him in his place. “As you work together, you get to know each other. I got to know Juhi. Similarly, I feel very close to Madhuri and Kajol. They are becoming more and more friends. As a result, there is cordiality in this relationship. We were stars on one side, with the producers and directors on the other. Very often we talked about the other side, either disparagingly or respectfully. As a star, out of courtesy I would never comment on Juhi's costumes or tell her, 'It's awful'. Today we're shooting a film. If her outfit is bad, I have to tell her.
Furthermore, we were happy with a recording if it was the producer. Today we have to look at it from both sides. Hence, whether we have the time or not, we have to repeat the bad reception. As producers, we also have to control our exuberance. In some ways, Aziz, Juhi and I are pretty much alike. We don't press or step on each other's toes. We are so close; we can hug each other, but not encroach on each other's space.
Over time we discovered our weaknesses. We have overcome some of them. For example, we sit in a room and discuss a scene. It sounds very good as an actor. 'Shah Rukh, you are good. How do you come up with things like that! But when the time comes to turn the shot, we realize that it was all crap. I realized that I am not what God I am believed to be. I am not as creative and great in my creativity as one would like to think according to the aura of fame.
We didn't notice that Juhi has an enormous eye for detail and a very factual approach to her work. Sometimes we just talk and she gets mad, 'Are we going to get down to business or should we break this meeting'? I've never seen this side of Juhi before.
Aziz is a very confident man. We saw him get sad and said 'my film is not working'. I never saw that in him either. We also discovered new talents in each other. However, discovering the fact that I am not as good and awesome as I sound like on paper was a great find for Juhi and Aziz. Now they know I only make big speeches!
We also discovered that the hardest worker in the most boring field of work is Juhi. And that someone like Big Daddy Aziz can succumb to the pressure. Now most of my ideas are rejected and all of the hard work goes to Juhi.
She is very involved. While we talk (11 p.m.), Juhi is still in the office checking the accounts. Sometimes she's there until one in the morning. She works the most. Our advertising campaign is completely done by her. I haven't even looked at it. She discusses related ideas. I did the TV commercial while Juhi did the rest. ”
It is evident that Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani was inspired by Raj Kapoor's song. And it comes across as a patriotic title. “Yes, it is inspired by the song by Raj Kapoor. It was Aziz's idea. We first thought of Hello India and India Today. I have to thank Raj Kumar Santoshi, who received the title of Mr. Mukherjee through Mr. Xavier Marquis. And no, it's not a patriotic film. "
Now that Juhi and Shah Rukh's first film is ready for release on January 21, 2000, you'd think he's nervous. But God forbid. “I'm nervous and confident about all of my films. This is my nature, very contradictory. I love and hate, like or dislike, am happy and sad at the same time. I don't think it's possible for any human being to isolate a feeling. The whole point of making this film was to be able to make it and bring it out the way you want it to be. I hope for the sake of my partners that Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani will be successful. I'm a superstar, I'll be fine I have no problems, I will work harder. If it doesn't work out, God forbid, I'll do something else. I will persist Regardless of the outcome of our film, I will be very emotionally attached to it and proudly say that it is my film. Nobody can take that away from me. Few people can say that their dream has come true. "
At the moment, Dreamz Unlimited is not engaged in any future plans. Be it the production of films, TV series or commercials. “We haven't really thought about anything yet. We're just waiting to get Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani ready and released. After we see how he's doing, we'll plan. It would be very sad if I had to sell my bungalow if the film didn't go well, ”he laughs nervously.
“Our company may be called Dreamz Unlimited, but we have to be very pragmatic. There are deals like the film by Santosh Sivan, the film by Farah Khan, Abbas-Mustan's film and Aziz next. But it's too early to decide. If we make another film with other actors, however, we will always have as much to do with it as we did with this one.
I am very radical, instinctive and weird. Aziz and Juhi respect a lot of what I say, but there comes a time when they realize that I'm overdoing it. I am a little crazier. I'm a little more carefree. I can tell them we should be doing a movie in Hollywood or doing a TV series and other weird things. They are more practical, more logical, and calmer people. They take the fun out of my ideas. ”
Did you ever call Shah Rukh to shut up?
"Yes," comes the honest answer. "You have very often told me to shut up and go out!"
Shah Rukh referred to himself as 'strange' throughout the interview. “I work more than normal people. I'm more crazy. I exaggerate more than others. I am not generous, but I am more generous than others. I have more of the I don't care attitude. I say whatever I feel like, whoever I want to go to. I can hit someone and sit down and talk to that person tomorrow. People called me a hypocrite. I'll tell you, 'Get out of here'! For me nothing is contradicting itself. That's what's so strange about me. Most people live by the rules established by others such as their parents, friends, and society. I live by my own norms and don't follow what people say. "
And yet you see Shah Rukh and Gauri at all the upper society parties
and have fun too. He emphasizes, “I used to be barely noticed, but I always went to these social parties. Of course, I'm wearing a black suit now because my friends told me to do that. I remember telling you that Gauri and I love to dance. We still do. This year I've actually been very unsociable and only went to a few parties. Otherwise I always partied. "
Nonetheless, he once told me that he hated these social parties. “Yes,” he admits, “I don't like them, but there are certain celebrations that I have to attend. I can't say no to my friends. Somehow my stardom has gotten such that if I say no, people will say I have grown too big. It is misunderstood! ”
Shah Rukh seems to have come full circle from the days when he was branded a clone of Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar's clone. He grins, “I took it as a compliment then and still do it today. Whoever people compared me to at the moment, they were clearly more popular than me. So it was a compliment. To be a Mr. Bachchan or a Mr. Dilip Kumar, you have to
Be there for 25 years and make the kind of films they did. Today I work with Mr. Bachchan and I understand how small I am when I work with him.
The problem here is not who is more talented or who is better at dancing or fighting well, but the point is being able to hold on as long as they are. We are looking at the wrong aspects when we talk about stardom, like looking at a successful movie or two. Or we examine the public recognition over several years. I don't think every film journalist and critic has the wits or the time to analyze a star's stamina.
It is very easy for a reviewer to downgrade and disqualify a film, especially since the actor's last film or two also failed. Critics are quick to dismiss an actor. 'Is he losing his connection to the box office?' 'Is it slacking off?' When I am compared to Mr. Bachchan, nobody takes into account all that he has achieved. People act rashly and don't look at reality or the truth.
I'd like to talk to these so-called critics after they make their first film and it fails. Then I'll ask him how it feels and if he understands what we're going through. So you see that reality is far from theory. "
Can he explain why he does so many commercials? Won't it lead to over-presence? "What is over-presence? Do you think people will pay me crores in rupees if I was seen too often? ”He replies. “No actor has acted in as many commercials as I did. My image is not damaged. I am no less popular. Then why don't people say that I make money and that these spots make me more popular.
I enjoy every form of acting. I don't see anything as negative. When that happens, you can ask another actor, 'God, Shah Rukh destroyed himself by doing so many spots.' No film actor in world history has done as much publicity as I have. On the other hand, there was no other actor like me. So ... I come from a very well-off family and I do this because I'm greedy. "
As we rounded out the interview, I couldn't help but wonder what his greatest achievement to date is. “Bringing a child into the world has been my greatest achievement. This is my son Aryan. All my other achievements pale in comparison. I've worked hard on all of my other achievements, but I've worked the least for my greatest achievement. ”
All parents raise their children with certain values. And unsurprisingly, Shah Rukh's parents never made any rules. “That is also the reason why none was broken. My mom used to talk about hard work, honesty, and sincere feelings. But one of the things they taught me was, 'If you enjoy doing something, go ahead and do it'. I never feel guilty about anything I do.
My part in Aryan's upbringing is similar. Gauri is very proud of me. I don't think she will mind if Aryan learns any of my values. She knows I'm a little strange, but there is also something that is right about me. That's why she married me. Of course, Gauri wouldn't want Aryan to be as crazy as I am. In my opinion he's okay! ”
Does the man of the millennium have any plans for the most talked-about day - the eve of the new millennium? “I will receive the first copy of Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani on December 31st this year. I will also spend time in my world, at home with my family. Hopefully with the first copy of the film! "