Most wanted – Shah Rukh Khan split wide open
Jitesh Pillai
Track him down in a suburban five-star hotel and the charm is turned on. Whoosh. After the obligatory bluster, Shah Rukh Khan is ready for action, fending off all my sharp and curious questions. But, but, but. He has a comic scene to complete with current co-star Juhi Chawla for his home production Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, directed by the white-haired Aziz Mirza. Like a hovercraft riding on a cushion of energy, he works through two pages of dialogue. He doesn't do the scene, he devours it. Just like that. He walks, springy and lively, wearing jeans and a faded grey T-shirt and a good pal's grin. He rattles off a volley of words, several of his sentences ending with an exclamation mark. Right now he needs a shave to clear the evening shadow. I need to catch my breath. Is it possible that it could exist, on a lower shelf of the interviewer's artillery, the one question SRK has not been asked in the course of his seven years in the industry. Since I cannot think of one at this moment, I rely on his inherent charm and ability to choose quotable lines. For all the questions and answers we have endured together over the last six years, SRK has always taken the hot seat in stride. At 34, he has that air of a leader who leaves his companions in the dust. All said and stuttered, I round up my usual suspect to ask:
Is it true that you parodied the media in Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani?
To an extent, yes. We tried to emphasise that a certain commercialism has crept into the media. It is a parody in the sense that we tried to show how every little event is sensationalised and made newsworthy. The race for big money is on. Recently Kapil Dev told me that our budget for World Cup advertising is almost six times more than what any other country spends on the event. That is interesting. The media is everything. That is why I succumbed to the lure. I have done alcohol advertising; I have made money from advertising.
Do you think the print media is biased?
Maybe. But I'm not complaining. We live in a world of hype, instant fame and the next best thing. Every day I read about a VJ, a model or an actor who is about to shake up show business. Great! I don't resent it. I've been lynched a couple of times. But by God's grace, my success and fame quotient has been so high that I've been able to forgive and forget. My attitude towards the media is that since it's about people's business, it's associated with bias and prejudice. It's the "some are more equal than others" syndrome. All I can ask the media to do is be more sensitive to people. Sensation should give way to emotion. Since we're in the entertainment business, our lives are already on display. Let's not make another navtanki out of it.
What about this war between the Khans?
I read somewhere recently that the three Khans - Salman, Aamir and I - are at war with each other over the soft drinks we promote. It is said to be a full-scale fight to the death. Come on, we are just doing advertisements for different drinks. Apparently someone has run out of ideas to set us against each other. Even asking the trade about us will not help. There are crores of rupees at stake between the three of us. People in the industry will say things that are politically correct. Which financier or distributor who has a stake in our films will say, 'This man is annoying, he is a bad actor, he has no business here'? They will just mutter polite things about how good our overseas market is or how the territories closed on the day our films are announced. Everyone wants to save their own ass.
Aren't actors like you becoming commodities today? You model for countless products. There is no aura or mystique anymore.
What's wrong with that? Of course an actor is a commodity. I mean, he is seen by millions of people. I do commercials; I love dancing at shows and weddings. I know I am fantasized about, some see me as an object of lust. That's OK with me, it's just part of it. And if actors turn into models and vice versa, what's wrong with that? However, I don't think too many actors can act. As far as aura and mystique are concerned, I don't want to be Greta Garbo. We already have enough of them here. I may dance at a baraat, I may attend 30 store openings in a month, I may do 40 advertisements, I may get bogged down in too many things. But face the fact that I am the biggest actor in the country today. I am a hugely popular star. One frustrated, idiotic journalist even wrote that I keep going on and claiming to be the best. Then he will surely die when he hears my song in Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. It goes, 'I am the best.' I have no problem dancing at weddings. Tomorrow I may be fat and bald. Then what? A journalist asked me if I had sold my soul in doing these things. You see, I get a lot of pleasure dancing for a bride whose mother is dying of cancer. I meet the lady in the hospital, she is happy; I have done my good deed for the day. End of story. It is nobody's business to know what I do with my life.
What do you represent? Why do audiences connect with you?
I have no idea why everyone loves me so much. As an actor, I bust my ass, as a producer, I bust my ass. I want to make the films I believe in. There is still a purity in me, I have retained it even after eight years in the industry. Maybe that translates to the screen. When I first played a villain, that's why I was ridiculed. Now every hero wants to be evil. Evil is good. I have played romantic roles, funny roles, everything. And what have I achieved so far? Nothing. I feel like there is so little time and so much to do. If I don't have that extra something tomorrow and if my films don't work, they will say I have a paunch, that my hair is thinning, that at 45 I am too old to play a college student. So now is the time. I will make all the mistakes I can. Funny enough, all those who are snubbed at commercial films want to make masala films with me. Tech-savvy advertising people want to merge with my company. Cosmetics conglomerates, textile magnates, builders, journalists, almost everyone wants to make a film with me. What more could I ask for? Years ago, I used to scoff at cassette heroes and say I would never be like one of them. Today, I may be one of them. But I am over-anxious. The bottom line is that I work very hard. Maybe the country doesn't pray for me like they do for Sachin Tendulkar when he goes out to bat, but I know I too am on a roll.
How do you plan to reinvent yourself as an actor? Do you like what you see?
Yesterday, an actor in the studio asked me to teach him how to talk fast. Imagine that! Wasn't I once criticised for talking too fast? Now they are doing it my way. It's fantastic! Real actors never slack off. Sean Connery didn't, Amitabh Bachchan didn't. How do you grow as an actor? I think you just live and learn. You can read all the books in the world, see all the films and plays and still be a lousy actor. Five years ago, Naseeruddin Shah told me that I need more therav in my acting, that I need to take a breath and not use up all my energy. I didn't understand what he meant then. Now I do. Acting is not like soap, it doesn't come in big and small sizes. In the same way, when words like 'evolution of an actor' are trumpeted, it hits me. I can't understand what all the fuss is about. That's why it gets me down when someone says that Aamir Khan is now trying to do tough roles. I mean, Aamir Khan is one of the best actors in the country. Please don't laugh at or belittle his talent. If a film demands him to be a tough cop, he will physically fit the role. It doesn't mean he is trying to prove that he can do action roles too. Come on, let's not get so mundane. If I want to jump from the 21st floor today, I will do it. Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty have done it so many times; it may not be anything new for them. But for me, it is a whole new experience. It doesn't mean I am trying to be a tough guy. Listen, I didn't become successful because I grew my hair long, wore body tights or an earring in any film. Those were parts of the whole package.
Now tell me, what was all this hullabaloo about with Yash Chopra? Apparently, the news of your quarrel with him made him announce the cast months before the release of his film, which will be directed by Aditya Chopra.
There has been no quarrel with Yash Chopra. It is absurd to think that I would ask him for an overseas territory. That too when he has opened his overseas office in the United States. He paid me my full market price for Mohabbatein. What more could I want? Yashji is family, I would never be so petty with him.
What about Subhash Ghai? He said that your misunderstanding with him was like a quarrel between husband and wife. And who is who?
(Laughs) Maybe I am the wife, because in Pardes I was the one who took the hit throughout. No, seriously, Subhashji and his wife have been good to me. They were very loving. I didn't believe in Pardes. Subhashji proved me wrong. So did Rakesh Roshan with Karan Arjun.
What happens if you are not on the same wavelength as the director?
I just let it go. 90 percent of my films have failed after the first schedule. Mind you, this is my personal opinion. What is on paper and what is ultimately executed are two different things. Once on the sets, the film takes on a life of its own. So now I only want to work with people I instinctively like. I am sick of wannabe and suggestion producers. I don't want to make films with directors who think they are Francis Ford Coppola or Steven Spielberg. I don't want to work with directors who take four years to complete a film and I don't want to work with directors who have made reshoots an art form. Now, as a producer, I know about money. You can't just be creative; you have to be marketing savvy too. It's OK to have a vision or to be inspired in the middle of the night. You can be self-indulgent, but only to a point. I am a business graduate, I understand finance.
Is that why you started Dreamz and Filmz?
Mostly yes. I was unhappy with the technical quality of our film production. Instead of copying, I wanted to do something about it. Maybe the special effects in my Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani won't even be registered by the audience. But I will make sure to get the best special effects team from London. I will never cheat in my film. Secondly, I want to make films my way, with the people I am comfortable with. If a director is about to spend Rs 8 crores on a film for my company and then tells me that he has to reshoot because his heroine looks boring, or the dance director has to be changed, or the story is not developing the way it was conceived, then I will kick him where it hurts the most.
Why are films less respected than other art forms like music and painting?
Perhaps because other art forms are largely inaccessible. And that is why there is an immediate sense of awe. You can see paintings by Van Gogh or MF Husain in just 10 per cent of the upper households in the country. How many listen to Bach, Handel or Luciano Pavarotti? On the other hand, the common man wakes up every morning under the influence of a film or film actor. He hums a film song while taking a bath. That is why there is a common reference point. Something that is accessible becomes less desirable. Cinema in India is like brushing your teeth in the morning. Or breathing. You cannot escape it. In the 1970s, every household had a product from the Tatas or the Birlas. Today, every home is inundated with the Barjatyas and the Chopras. It is hipper to say you have a Mercedes Benz than a Maruti 800, just as it is hipper to say you just had cheese fondue rather than ras malai. Anyway, high-class pretensions upset me. I admit that my status facilitates my entry into the fascinating circle. But nothing about it impresses me. Just as the common man is impressed by a star, so is the supreme celebrity. They both want my autograph and take pictures with me. I see no difference. Maybe the guy from Malabar Hill comes to meet me in a Mercedes and the one from Dombivli in a bus. Bottom line: films affect everyone.
Do you enjoy your success status?
No, not at all. I just make sure my wife, son and sister lead a secure life. I am not a clothes-oriented person; I am not materialistic. My house may have high-tech gadgets and marble floors, but personally I am cool. It is not important for me to travel to the French Riviera to rejuvenate or go to Zodiac Grill and Thai Pavilion just because the makers do. So many of my friends love the high life. That is why I play along. But I don't want to be a party animal. I don't have to impose my views on anyone. I am Shah Rukh Khan.
Aren't you afraid of losing all this one day?
I know that one day all this will be over. And trust me; I won't be able to handle it. But that's life. See, I've never been able to analyze the secret of my success, so how can I analyze my failure? I can't. Maybe one day I'll go back to making and producing TV series. Don't forget that's where I started.
What about the rush of power? Since this is essentially a people business, do you find it intoxicating to manage so many lives?
There is no rush of power. I don't have affairs, I don't drop my pants at every opportunity, I don't give grief to my producers, I don't make life difficult for my co-stars, and I don't make colorful speeches to intimidate people. Nor is it important for me to give anybody a chance, to make idiotic films and then go around saying, "What a selfless actor I am! I've given so many new talents a chance." It's not my star trip. I get my daily rush from acting. In that sense, I'm self-centered. I'll shout it from the rooftops and tell people how good I am. If need be, I'll aggressively sell myself. Creativity cannot be contained within the four walls of your room. I believe in the frontal assault. My love for my wife, my child and my films borders on the pathological. Yes, I am an extremist. Mediocrity is out. I have always said it is better to be sorry than to be safe. That is my mantra. Joking aside, it can never be said that I did not give my best, that my performances were half-hearted. That is the reason I have dedicated my life to films. They say that success makes you fat and ugly, but I have become slimmer and more handsome. I have even been told that girls find me desirable.
And what's the craziest rumor you've heard about yourself recently?
I heard it in the course of a single day. Someone told me they'd heard I was irredeemably gay. Four hours later, someone else told me I was rumored to be a womanizer and a ladies' man. I suffered an identity crisis that day.