Actually
Nilufer Qureshi
It's the usual for Shah Rukh Khan. Another great performance, another hit, another confirmation of his position as the Badshah of the box office. Another reason to celebrate. He could lay claim to a few days off after the super success of Kal Ho Naa Ho. But he's just as busy as he's ever been, shooting from 9am to 3am the next morning. Lunch and tea breaks are for the producers, media people, advertising agencies, anyone who wants a slice of his time. Me included.
What is the one question you are being asked these days?
How do you feel now that your film is a big hit? (Laughs) I want to tell you, I feel terrible. I was hoping that this film would not be successful. It is throwing me completely off track and I am depressed. The other is, how do you feel about your comeback? I don't even know where I went that I have to make a comeback.
In a poll conducted by ORG-MARG for Filmfare, Amitabh Bachchan and you have been voted as the most powerful men in the film industry. How did you react to that?
To be honest, I was quite surprised. I suppose it is purely a business decision as I have not been voted the most powerful guy for humanitarian reasons. A lot of people in the industry obviously think I am powerful but I don't know who these guys are as so many people get angry with me, they all bother me for appointments or ask me to work with them.
Perhaps the choice was made on the basis of consistent performance over the last eight to 10 years. When a film is successful, the film hero gets the most credit for it. Although that is good for me, I think it is wrong as there is much more to a film than just the hero. So I can't take it too seriously. I don't know what to think of it. But still, it is a nice feeling.
You are also called King Khan and Badshah of Bollywood. Is that a nice feeling too?
(Grins) I like King Khan - it sounds good and has a nice ring to it. But again, I don't take it seriously because if I did, I would have had to take the reports three years ago just as seriously that my films were not successful and I was finished. Being called King Khan and the most powerful guy today may change next week. I have to be philosophical about it. Because as I always say, you are never as good as they say you are and never as bad as they make you out to be. I am somewhere in the middle. The best way is to keep working so that I don't get too caught up in these labels and titles that they attach to fame.
You know, I have always said that my films should be like a stamp of approval. Once you are in a position to choose, your films should seem important. They may fail or they may be hits, but their release should be an anticipated affair. People say that a Shah Rukh film is something to look forward to. I am very happy that I have been able to achieve this.
What do you think makes you stand apart from other actors?
(Chuckles) My average looks, my fast talk, my soulful eyes, my dimples like Preity Zinta, my thick lips and my saying 'I am the best'. Joking aside, one thing that sets me apart from other actors is that I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do a scene. Many actors say, 'This is the wrong way to do a scene like this'. I don't agree. Tell me to do a death scene standing on my head and I will do it and I will make it work. Acting is about making the unbelievable believable.
What was your gut feeling about your performance in Kal Ho Naa Ho while you were making the film? Did you anticipate such a big response?
To be honest, I didn't think I would be liked that much. Somewhere in between, halfway through the film, I even lost faith in my performance. I even had discussions with Karan (Johar) about it. But Karan and Nikhil (Advani) trusted me.
The only contribution from my side was that I decided that my character would be sassy. I call the heroine of the film chashmish, I call the old ladies budhiyas. I wanted Aman to be like me. He is very similar to me as far as performance is concerned - funny, ironic. So I didn't have to work too hard on him.
Also, in Kal Ho Naa Ho, I worked with dubbed sound for the first time and that improved my performance. I would also like to think that I have become a better actor with this film. There are some films that give you that feeling (I felt it with Dil Se too).
However, many people tell me that my performance in KHNH is so real because I was in pain. They want to give the credit to my pain.
Some critics feel that you have a tendency to overdo it as an actor. Do you agree?
When people say I'm exaggerating or putting on an act, it shows their lack of understanding of what acting is all about. I don't blame them because they're not actors, they're writers. It's like me picking on a writer and saying their language is all wrong. If someone criticises the technical aspects of my acting without knowing anything about it, then I can pick on the technical aspects of their writing. But it's no use because neither of us knows each other's jobs. You can't really get a handle on what people like. I'm sure some people think I'm exaggerating and others think I'm underacting. Likewise, a lot of people think I'm good-looking and a lot of people don't.
I can't take any of them seriously. My job as an actor is to be able to learn as I do things that are new to me. Nobody knows my job better than I do and it should be left to me. I don't think I gave a blatantly bad performance. But there may have been instances where I overacted and people didn't like it. There must have been times when I couldn't have handled a scene better and underplayed it. For example, I thought Devdas was very subdued.
You can't really control it as it is a creative process. You can't be an egotistical actor and say I won't do this because I think it is not right. You have to do what the director thinks is right. He is the direct link to the audience he is making the film for. If I am doing a David Dhawan film, I cannot choose to act the way I did in a Mani Ratnam film or vice versa. Both are good filmmakers, both make films for audiences they resonate with, they understand their audience and they are both right. You have to change with every director.
You are often accused of playing the same roles with different names - Raj, Rahul etc. How would you respond to that criticism?
I don't think I play the same roles. And I have yet to feel the need to change my looks to play a character. People who criticise me can see the exaggeration but they can't catch the subtlety of a performance. They can comment on the exaggeration but they don't catch the nuances. But the audience catches the nuances, the subtle changes in character.
I also think people confuse roles and looks with characterisation. Characterisation is a very visceral, internalised thing and is something I give weight to. For example, you won't find me clutching my heart anywhere in KHNH. I didn't want anyone who saw that film to perceive a heart condition as an inability (just like I wanted everyone to hate alcoholics after seeing Devdas). People with asystole have told me that often the left hand hurts and if you watch the film carefully you will see me holding my left hand in some scenes.
These are things that people understand but not the critics. If they still insist that I play the same characters, my answer is: yes, I do. And I am happy with that. I have always said that I have five expressions and I think I have done enough combinations with those expressions. If it sells, it sells.
Why have we not seen you in roles like Baazigar and Darr for so long when you rose to fame with hard-edged performances like those films?
I was the first person to kill women and throw them off roofs. But I don't feel like doing that now. It is something I don't want as a person. I don't want to make a film that I have to explain to my children. They already keep asking why Amitji always shouts at me in the films (Mohabbatein and Khabi Khushi Kabhie Gham). They ask me why does Crorepati Uncle (Amitji) always shout at you and throw you out of the house? They take these things seriously, it moves them. I had to ask Amitji to tell them that we were acting it, but they don't understand. So I want to make films that make them feel good.
Aren't you limiting yourself as an actor by only making feel-good cinema?
Why should I make cinema that makes you feel bad? There is enough around us that does that. Cinema should make you feel good. God has given me this great gift of making people feel good and if people reprimand me for it, fine. I don't mind being reprimanded for making feel-good cinema. I am not going to change and make people feel bad through my films.
In fact, I want to tell the youngsters that you should not forget the goodness as you go through life. My films have similar messages about the value of parents and the values they teach you.
Do you feel pressured by the fact that young people see you as a role model?
I am an actor and entertainer. I am not meant to be a role model for young people and if they want to make me one, it is at their own risk. I do not have the best habits in the world. I do not sleep enough, I do not eat properly and I smoke. These are all bad things and I do not want any young person to do them.
But yes, all young people should follow my joy in life and my tendency to do the best I can. I am a good role model if you want to learn from someone who believes that there is a purpose in life that you should fulfill and pursue seriously. Who believes that you should never give up when you stumble and not take it too seriously when you succeed. Love is what should guide you.
You handle your own success pretty well. What keeps you grounded?
The fact that I have people around me who don't treat me special just because I happen to be in a field that has put me in the top 10. I haven't changed towards them, nor have they with me. I have read interviews where actors say that after a hit, people started offering them chairs. I find that very strange as I have always been offered chairs. And even today, if someone didn't offer me a chair, I wouldn't take it personally. On my sets, I take the chairs and give them to all my artists. I get my own chair myself, I don't ask my spot boy to do it. I haven't developed the habit of snapping my fingers to get something done. I believe that whatever you have to do, you have to do it yourself. Even in my own house, I don't ask anyone to bring me a glass of water, I get it myself.
I have never felt that I should be given special appointments, planning and treatment because I am a superstar. I never checked if other actors' hotel rooms were bigger or smaller than mine. I never asked anyone to pay my phone bills in my life. I always paid them myself. I never expected anything from anyone. All of this keeps me pretty grounded, very balanced.
On the other hand, how much does the trappings of fame bother you?
I hear a lot of actors say, 'My personal life is restricted because people recognise me on the streets.' It's perfectly fine with me as nobody has ever bothered me. I have never been to an Italian restaurant that closed because I was there. I have never created a story like this or felt happy about it. I have never enjoyed the fact that I went somewhere and there was a commotion. I have never had to wear a burkha to watch a film of mine. And I don't wear dark glasses to hide from people.
So many people want a piece of you. Does it get tiring to find time for everyone and everything or do you enjoy it?
These are not pitfalls; this is a part of your profession. When you choose to be an actor, your time no longer belongs to you. If you are as busy an actor as I am, you have to accept that. It just means I have to work faster and harder. And God has given me that ability. Saroj Khan used to tell me, 'Beta, never complain about too much work. Jab nahin hota hai to bahut bura lagta hai.' I wish I could work with people 24 hours a day and solve whatever problems they have.
Your recovery from the surgery has been painfully slow. How has this affected your lifestyle?
God gives and God takes away. He gave the pain; He will also make it go away. I have done everything scientifically possible. I have consulted the best doctors, done everything I could do. Even if the pain remains, I will not change my lifestyle. I would feel the pain even more if I just lay on my bed all day, so it is better to get up and face the world.
I must win this battle with my pain. I will not let it take over because I want to play with my children, just like I did when I was 15. I am not going against God's wishes or challenging Him. But I must use my positive attitude against the pain.
During a recent shooting schedule of Main Hoon Na, you were hanging from a helicopter for a scene. How scary is that with your back?
It's not scary - I was just hanging from the helicopter and wasn't supposed to fall off it. My back was actually a little sore, but then again, no pain, no gain. I can't keep making excuses about my back and not do anything. My surgeon has told me, 'Do what you do every day and you will be OK.' I want to give him that chance. If my back doesn't get better, then I will say, OK, I shouldn't do it. My back hurts now, but then again, it hurt for those six months when I was doing nothing. So why stop doing something you love doing? I love hanging from helicopters, good back or bad back.
Actually, I was in a lot more pain when I was doing Maahi Ve. But it was worth it as people liked the song so much.
How important is it for you that people love you?
It's the most important thing in my life. I can do without the world, but I can't do without the love that I get from people. I would be crushed if people stopped loving me. I wouldn't be able to change it, but I would be very confused. I long for people to love me. I long for people to want to see me. That's why I'm not one of those stars who wear dark glasses to hide their faces. For me it's important that people know me, understand me, love me and don't reject me.
What's the best compliment you've received?
People write to me and say you inspire us. Not necessarily as an actor. And that's very nice. I've become a focal point for one or two people in the world, and that's pretty important to me.
How much does it bother you when people criticise you?
It makes no difference. You know the song, Kuch toh log kehenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna, chhodo bekar ki baatein, kahi beet na jaye raina… that's life. If people want to talk, they will talk. I don't even consider it as complaining; I think they are wasting their time. I can't get caught up in it because I will find myself becoming like that. I teach my children the same thing: 'What others say and do is their job. If you know clearly that you are not saying or doing anything wrong and not hurting anyone, God will always be kind to you as He has been to me.'
Are there any lies you have said that you would like to take back?
(Smiles) I have never lied, I have only fibbed. I usually say, main naha raha hoon or abhi aa raha hoon. To all these people, I apologise and confess that whenever I say I am taking a bath, I am not doing it.
They seem to have become very religious recently.
I have always believed very strongly in God. I read books on all religions because when my children ask me, I don't want to seem uneducated about these subjects. So I have started reading books on science again. If they ask me which is bigger, Uranus or Saturn, I should know. I don't want to sound like a stupid father who knows nothing. I teach them something new every day to impress their teacher. It could be names - Fidel Castro, Michael Schumacher, Osama bin Laden - or places - Hiroshima, Nagasaki. In another two or three years I will be reading about mathematics, although I would like to avoid it.
What do you want from life now?
I just want my children to grow up healthy and to be proud of the films I have made. I want to do a little good, in my own way. Inshaallah, to set up an orphanage and a film studio one day. I have many dreams. Most of them are aimed at giving back to society what it has given me.
Is there anything you would want to change in your life?
Nothing, not even my back. Everything in my life is perfectly balanced. I don't want to change anything because that would completely change the balance.
You seem to have matured a lot lately.
(Grins) I'm just getting younger, better looking, more successful and my back is strong. All of this has made me become a nicer person. I was a very active actor when I started, then I became an overacting actor and then a good actor. Now the time has come for me to just be a mature, calm person. I should become a better person now.
Shah Rukh Khan – I’m just sexual
Frankly, I still don't know the exact meaning of the word metrosexual. Does it have something to do with men living in subways? Anyway, let's see...
Caring and compassionate: When it comes to men being sensitive and emotional, I think men have always been like that. I myself am oversensitive and get hurt very easily. As far as films are concerned, I cry very easily because my producers pay me to do so. I cry in real life too, but not in public.
Family matters: I am a total family man. I take my kids to school every day and if I could cook, I would even cook for them. For me, doing things for my kids is very masculine. If these are the traits of a metrosexual man, then count me in.
Stylebhai: I am not a big shopper. I shop mostly for my kids - toys, video games, that kind of stuff. For myself, it's books, electronics and computer stuff. I don't buy clothes, so the question of brand awareness doesn't come up. My wife and friends get me my whole wardrobe, or I just take the clothes I got for a movie but didn't wear in it.
I don't care about accessories either. I wear them in the movies, but all I wear in real life is a locket with a prayer engraved on it and a band around my right middle finger. I only own three belts and don't wear sunglasses. Even in the movies I rarely wear them. The only accessory I buy for myself is shoes, as they need a specific fit.
Bodyshop: I've never had a manicure or pedicure in my life, as I'm too shy to do so. I don't try different hairstyles for a movie either; I just try to be different in my movies. I've never been to a spa, but I work out - in my gym - in my time.
I guess I'm not much of a metrosexual man. I'm just sexual, nothing more.