Shah Rukh, straight from the heart!
Mushtaq Sheikh
Dil Se is like a quiver of your lips. It comes like a flash and cannot be pre-planned. It is like a chaotic suitcase of memories, for within its mess lies its magic. Your body responds to something that turns your stomach, besides giving you goosebumps. Instantaneously. The reaction is reflexive. Dil Se was such an instinctive need from Mani Ratnam's right ventricle that went awry at the box office. Shah Rukh Khan was one of the major arteries and he took the job because he himself had a selfish reason - an actor needs to cleanse himself.
Dil Se, the film everyone had pinned their hopes on, took a nosedive at the box office and everyone was surprised. The critics, the detractors and everyone else on the other side of the fence bashed it. And with style. There was no one there to defend Dil Se. Mani keeps his distance from the press and Shah Rukh, the voice, had disappeared from the country. Today he is back and it is only fair that he gets the chance to talk about his pet project Dil Se.
I reach Film City to find Shah Rukh shooting for Abbas-Mustan's Badshah. The sun is beating really bad and the AC is not working well either. To rub salt in the wound, my interlocutor is not feeling very well either. On his mobile, he says, "No man, I have been under the weather for two days. I guess it's the strain. When I reached here for the shoot, I just went to sleep. The poor guys, when they came to call me for my shot and found me asleep, they didn't even bother me. I took a nice nap and now I'm awake. I will have to make up for it by doing some overtime." When Shah Rukh ends the call, I know this is not his best day, so only afterwards do I gently ask him about Dil Se. Surprisingly, he immediately agrees to talk.
I ask my first question without hesitation: What is it like knowing that Dil Se failed? Shah Rukh shifts in his seat until he is comfortable and says, "For me, the film is not a failure. I am not trying to justify Dil Se, but frankly, for me, the film is not a failure. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. Among the 25 films I have done, it is like a good silver jubilee film."
Disbelief shows on my face but I say it out loud for clarity. Perhaps he considers it a success personally, not in real terms of the Naaz Cinema building. Shah Rukh shakes his head vigorously and replies, "Of course, personally speaking. But I think it is important. It is not that I made a film that was not successful and I don't even like the product. Dil Se is very close to my heart and I am very proud of it."
Of course I should know this since in his last interview he claimed that what he needed to do to put the critics in their place was to go ahead and make another film with Mani Ratnam. "It is not that I can make a film with Mani Ratnam. It is up to Mani Ratnam to decide whether he wants to sign me. That was not meant to be interpreted as, 'We will silence the critics together'. Frankly, I don't care about the critics. The film was not made for them, it was a film from the heart. I believe Dil Se is a classic and I am not kidding myself about that."
Whatever the film's box office fallout, does Shah Rukh feel somewhere that he failed to strike a chord? He has his defence ready. "It wasn't meant to strike a chord. It was meant to be an honest film, straightforward, with no attempt to go too far. You can't give too much flair to a film like this. The subject was terrorism and you can't try to hide it in the garb of a typical film, apart from the song we added. You can't make a film on Phoolan Devi and treat it like Daakurani. The film had a factual subject with a factual look. It revolves around a human being who is a human bomb. To glorify it would completely defeat the purpose of the film. We could have easily added a song between Manisha and me, shot in Ladakh. We could have easily inserted her confession of her love for me, in narrative form. But wouldn't that defeat the purpose of the film?"
What eludes me is why they couldn't add some sentimental scenes between the lead pair. Shah Rukh now thinks I need some enlightening facts, so he changes his tone to that of a professor and explains, "Tell me, what is the character of a person who is about to commit suicide? What is going on in her mind? How silent, matter-of-fact, unreal, strong, bitter, dark, calm and scared would she be? Manisha was that character. She couldn't fool around. Then consider the other person, me, who is falling in love with a girl who is about to kill herself and also the President of the country. What could be going on in his mind? Think honestly about these feelings and you will discover the point of the film. If you wake up to find that you have married a human bomb, you won't fall into meaningful dialogues like 'Tumne mujhe dkoka diya'! Or a narrative situation where the hero soulfully asks the heroine, 'Kyon kiya tumne aisa?' It's not at all about how the scene wasn't approached. Here it's, 'What are you going to achieve by doing this? You kill ten, they'll kill 20. You kill 20, they'll kill 30. You can't do that. What are you carrying? God, that's a bomb.' It's a very real situation in a way, not a cinematic one, where they're put on a lake bank, which makes a beautiful backdrop to talk. And Dil Se is real, because tell me, how could anyone ask a human bomb why it's one? Could anyone ask the lady who killed Rajiv Gandhi why she did it? We weren't talking about someone getting a job in Dubai. It was more serious, like killing the president of the country. It was very real and factual and maybe that's why it didn't work."
Does he feel that the makers of Dil Se needed a more educated audience to understand the film? A sip of the Pepsi and Shah Rukh quips, "Not at all. I think in a way a little more film style was expected. I think the audience is very educated, it has nothing to do with them. We must have gone astray otherwise." The next question that comes up is an obvious one, like, "The film was not a boy meets girl, so everyone would have reservations about the subject and the way it has been handled. Everyone will have 20 opinions because it is a very controversial, different, extraordinary kind of subject. I think the problem was that the film was too factual. And reality hurts," he informs. Reality
also means getting hurt when you see films that are dear to your heart not succeeding. Everyone wants their films to succeed in the Friday test. Shah Rukh categorically states, "Every film that does well gives me a chance to take on another film that is close to my heart. Successful films allow me to experiment with the films that I want to do. I have to be in the position of choice, so I need success. Yes, I will do films that look successful in their approach, but I will still do the stuff that makes me happy. You need courage to do a Dil Se. I only have enough courage to do one or two like this a year, not all four. But I have more courage than anyone because I will do at least one or two like this every year."
Many people have pointed to the language medium as a problem why Mani failed with Dil Se. "I don't think that can ever be a problem for a director like Mani Ratnam. There are many so-called reasons. Some people told me that we should have revealed that Manisha is a terrorist right at the beginning. Some said that it should have been more narrative. But what matters is not how this film could be better. The point is, have you ever actually tried to make a film like this? It takes guts. Sitting down after it is made and saying how it could have been better is no big deal. You have no right to comment on it. Guts is to make a film and stick to the plan that was originally formatted and not succumb to pressure."
The interview goes well. Dil Se is relived, the AC is working properly, Shah Rukh is more engaged with the subject and it is time for the assistant to knock on the door and announce 'Record ready'! Shah Rukh looks at him and says, 'give me a minute'. And then he gives me a look that says we've only got one minute left, he speaks into the recorder. "Dil Se will not be forgotten for a long time. You can hate it, dislike it, criticise it, talk about it, but you cannot forget it. It is a film that comes from the heart and the heart does nothing wrong. It is not a calculated film. Ninety-nine percent of the things the heart feels are wrong. Therefore, do not try to understand and analyse the film. See it, feel it. Better still, do not feel it. Dil Se cannot be otherwise... that's it."
He gets up to change his shirt and I ask one final question. Is he disappointed that Dil Se went wrong? Without freaking out, he reels off, "I am not disappointed with Dil Se. I'm more disappointed when I read about people writing that I'm disappointed."
For all the boring purists out there asking for a narrative, meet EE Cummings. Try to understand a ripple in a pool full of water. Try to control a reflex action or deny your body the luxury of goosebumps. And you'll know what your dil is saying...
Red hot – Shah Rukh’s sexy snippets
Cine Blitz gives you an insight into one of the Badshahs of the box office. Here's everything you've ever wanted to know about Shah Rukh and never had the courage to ask!
I am not a… hypocrite.
I have never claimed to be… sensitive.
I am better than… a mediocre actor.
I don’t like… getting hurt.
I am very close to… Salman Khan.
I am not afraid to… cry.
I don’t hide… my tears.
I would give my whole life to… work with Mr. Bachchan.
Whenever I am alone… I live in the past.
I like to go to… extremes.
I live… for the moment.
I am completely… unreliable.
Sadder than the death of my parents would be… if Gauri left me.
I am possessive about… Aryan, Gauri and my sister Shehnaz.
I am a… professional through and through.
I don’t get… angry.
I am not good-looking enough… to be called sexy.
I have been successful… on my own terms.
In magazines, I see all the stars… lying through their teeth.
I have had many… sad moments in life.
I have never had a problem… with Anil Kapoor.
I have always... spoken my mind.
I have softened... over the years.
I am... arrogant, loudmouthed, brash, overconfident.
I trust... Mr. Ghai and Mr. Yash Chopra.
I cannot... sit down and relax.
I want to... reduce my workload.
I have to... work all the time.
I would be boring if I were... normal.
I make no apologies for my... irregularity.
I depend on... my wife, my sister, my dog.
I am used to... seeing beauty all around me.