40 Questions Shah Rukh Khan positively speaking
Nilufer Qureshi
1. How are you feeling today?
As always, I'm on the go, doing the things I have to do. I'm back at work after a long vacation, so my days are planned out - get up, go to work, do a show, go to an opening. But I'm a little more relaxed inside. In the last few months, I've become more withdrawn. I'm more content to be on my own. I don't want to have too much to do with the world. I don't know why... maybe it's because of my children, maybe it's because I've gotten a little older.
2. What was your nickname at school?
Mail gadda, because I could run very fast, like an express train. And also because my hair stood up in the front.
3. What is your naughtiest memory?
There are many; I got in trouble with many of my teachers. I once convinced my chemistry teacher to give me good grades by telling her I was like a son to her. I also faked an epileptic fit a lot. I would 'faint' in the classroom and the teachers would have to take off their shoes to let me smell them. One time when we had a new teacher, I 'fainted' and the other kids convinced him that I would die if he didn't give me the suede shoes he was wearing. He had to walk around barefoot for the rest of the day.
4. Could you tell us three little-known facts about yourself?
1. I have many moles, but only on the right side of my body.
2. I don't drink water, only Pepsi.
3. I hate wearing slippers, I never do.
5. If you had to apologize, who would it be?
To all the people I love for not being able to spend more time with them. I hope I never have to apologize to my children for not spending enough time with them.
6. What are the four essential ingredients of love?
Being together, by which I mean spending every moment together. Lots of passion and laughter. I believe and trust the people I love, but I am still jealous and possessive. I guess that's why I have to add jealousy and possessiveness as well.
7. What part of the body do you like the most?
The collarbone area.
8. What was your greatest extravagance?
My bungalow. I'm still paying for it.
9. Could you tell us three little-known facts about your wife Gauri?
1. She used to paint very well but doesn't anymore.
2. She can dance very well.
3. She is a typical middle-class girl from Punjab.
10. What is the weirdest thing you have ever put in your mouth?
Shaving cream, for a scene in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na. I was supposed to use an ice cream, but it wouldn't stick to the cone, so I used shaving cream instead.
While fooling around with Aryan and Suhana, I even put insects in my mouth to make them think I was eating the bugs. But of course, I immediately spat them out.
11. What is the one thing you want most?
There is nothing I really want anymore. I have been given enough and I am satisfied. Now I want to give but I don't know how, so I will keep trying in my own way. I try to please everyone. I feel bad when I have hurt someone.
12. What was the most memorable phone call of your life?
The phone call I remember sadly is the one we received from the hospital asking them to come and collect my father's body. It was 2:30 in the night and we reached the hospital at 4. I also remember that my mom didn't tell me that he had died. She just said, "Come, Dad wants to see you."
13. When was the last time you lost your temper?
The last time I really lost my temper was about six months ago. I actually have a very bad temper, but I've learned to control it because I'm afraid of what I might do. When I get very angry, there's nothing that can stop me, I might even kill someone. That's why when the situation is particularly explosive, I try really hard to stay calm.
14. What book do you read most often?
Many. Books by Adrian Mole and Woody Allen (I have the complete Woody Allen collection). Family Ties by Bill Cosby. Douglas Adam's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
15.Which songtext means a lot to you?
Abhi, don't go and have sex, your heart is not filled yet.
You have come just now, you are right on the spring bank, you are feeling a little better,
this is a shade of darkness, you are feeling proud of this heart.
Mein thodi der je toh loon, nahe ke ghoont peeth toh loon.
Abhi has not said much, Abhi has heard much…
Of us both. This is incredibly romantic. I would like to sing in a movie one day.
16. What would you most like to have inherited?
After becoming a star, people say I'm nice-looking, but I wish I had inherited my father's looks, then I would be handsome too. He was six feet tall and very handsome - I look nothing like him. My mom was very beautiful too.
17. What part of your clothing has shaped your identity?
My shirt half off, half tucked in. I always wore my shirt like that in my normal life, I wore it like that in DDLJ and after that it became my trademark.
18. What is the most erotic word in the English language?
Sweetheart. I find it very sexy, although it has been misused a lot. And I don't mean it in a sensual erotic way. Shashi Kapoor could say it well. I think I say it sweetly too. I say 'sweetheart' to a lot of people.
19. What is the worst thing someone has said about you?
Ashok Banker once wrote that I should move out of Mumbai because we actors are a threat and danger to all the people who live here. That there are people who try to kill us because of our schemes and alleged underworld dealings and instead innocent bystanders are shot on the streets. This is not necessarily the worst thing someone has said about me but I found it all very tasteless. And very stupid. Nobody can tell anyone where to live. Nobody can ask me to leave Mumbai, especially after paying so much for my bungalow.
20. If you could change one thing about your body, what would it be?
For decoration and beautification, nothing. Just for repair purposes, it would be the disc in my neck, my knee and my ankle. They hurt a lot, so it's purely for health reasons.
21. Where and when have you been most embarrassed?
I haven't been in many embarrassing situations. Except that they told me that I had changed without realising it in front of the crew after playing the drunk in a scene in Devdas. I don't find it embarrassing in the real sense, it's okay. Oh yes, Farida Jalal embarrasses me when she says I have cute dimples. I blush when she says that to me.
22. What are you most afraid of about how you will be remembered?
As a mediocre actor. I'm afraid that in 30 years, people will say, "Shah Rukh was OK. He was sweet, not too bad, not too good." Or "He was a poster boy" - which I'm not. And that they'll talk about my dimples. I'd be pretty disappointed if people remember me only for my dimples.
23. What's the cutest thing about you?
Some people say I have a puppy look in my eyes sometimes. Or maybe it's my dimples... I really don't know.
24. What do you never get tired of buying?
Toys. I have an excuse now because of the kids, but I have always liked buying toys, even more than electronic stuff. I buy a lot of computer stuff and also books. These are really the only things I buy.
25. Are you a better actor on or off screen?
Obviously off screen. Because the camera makes you do certain things and it's very artificial when you're on camera. The naturalness comes when you're not on camera.
26. When was the last time you felt absolutely insignificant?
In a broad sense, every day. In terms of the success that I have. I have never really had a reason to feel insignificant. I have always been treated well. Except once in Mauritius when I was escorting Madhuri Dixit through a crowd after a show and the guards let her pass but they stopped me. Frankly, I have so many people in my life who love me so much that I can never be completely insignificant. Especially in the last five years, I have never had a reason to feel insignificant.
27. What keeps you going in a crisis?
The belief and hope that one more try might fix the problem. That if you keep banging your head against it, the door will eventually fall. I have the energy to get up and try again. That's why I keep trying. I always give that one more shot, one more try.
28. What is the best way to say goodbye?
Say Abhi na jao chod ke…I just hug the person with lots of love.
29. Do you believe in God?
I believe in God totally and absolutely. Few people have my kind of faith in Allah. I have also instilled the existence of Allah in my children. I thank Him for everything I have. I am religious in my own way - I only pray to Him to make others happy. I would not pray to Him for myself, only as a last resort. The last time I did it was to save my mom.
30. What is your idea of a perfect day?
It should start at two in the afternoon and end at five in the morning. I used to think that just lazing around would make a perfect day, but not anymore. When it rains, I want to sit in a room with good company, watch a movie, eat nachos with salsa, and drink Pepsi.
31. Does the body rule the mind or is it the other way around?
In my case, the mind rules the body without a doubt. There is no physical pleasure except perhaps smoking, which I indulged in despite my mind and reason telling me not to. I have done the most difficult things just because I was focused on them. Be it setting myself on fire in Koyla or jumping into running water without a safety line. Or even the hours I spent doing them.
32. What's the worst part of being an actor?
Nothing, really. Yet sometimes, during a take, the film roll in the camera runs out... and I know I'll never get that moment back because it can never be repeated. I'm not talking about over-the-top crying or fight scenes, but a simple scene with a beautiful moment.
33. What do you not joke
about? Disability. It is wrong to joke about mental or physical disability. I felt bad when I did it in Baadshah, the only time I did it. But it was okay as it was a funny scene.
34. You have 20 seconds to promote anything you want. Go for it.
I would promote it to a lot of people who don't know what focus means. I would tell them to concentrate, think, and think clearly for a moment. Focus on the task at hand - love, life, sleep, whatever. Focus is the essence of life.
35. What is the best thing about being a superstar?
I enjoy seeing the smiles on people's faces when they see me. I like the fact that when I come on stage, I can feel the smiles on their faces. Maybe I'm wrong or presumptuous, but I can feel it. I like it when people in passing cars get excited when they see me. Or when I come out of my house to take a walk and the people waiting outside are excited to see me.
It's nice that I get treated really well because I'm a superstar. Although there are places where I'm not. Like the immigration counter at Mumbai airport. They always stop me and make me wait in line. They started doing this recently and specifically to me. I don't try to challenge their authority, nor have I gotten the person in trouble by making a few calls to his manager, as that would make me feel really bad.
I may be treated like that in my own country, but at Heathrow Airport the story is different. The moment I step off the plane, a lady escorts me away from the VIP lounge and within seconds my bags are brought to me. An American once told me, "We wouldn't even do that for John Travolta."
36. Have you ever been proposed to?
I have never had a girl make advances to me. I don't even know what an advance is. I wouldn't even know if a girl made one to me. Because I have never made advances to a girl.
I have had women come up to me at parties and say nice things like, "You're cute," or "You're cool." I take it on that level. No girl has asked me, "Will you marry me?" or "Will you sleep with me?" If a girl claims she proposed to me, I would like to say I didn't notice.
37. What do you regret most in your life?
Sometimes, controlling my temper. I wish I could let it out. Sometimes I regret having so much patience.
38. What is the best compliment you have received?
What Deepa and Ketan Mehta said to me after watching Devdas, "After so many years, you are still able to express emotions with your eyes... have you learned something new? We have seen you for so many years and your eyes still make us sad. How do you manage to continue to express emotions so beautifully?" That was pretty sweet.
39. If you were allowed only one letter, who would it be to and what would it say?
It would be like the one Abraham Lincoln wrote to his son's teacher. In case I wasn't there, I would leave a letter to all the people who take care of my children, but mostly to their teachers. I would say be kind to them, not rude. Be tough if you have to, but don't hit them. They may take some time to understand or learn certain things, not because they don't want to learn, but because they have other things on their minds besides school.
40. Are there angels?
There are. There are more of them than there are of us, so each of us has our own angel. I'm sure I'm someone's angel, or that they think of me that way. I know I consider some people my angels. But I won't tell them, because then they'll go away.