Shah Rukh Khan – Catch me if you can
Jitesh Pillai
He is always on the move… breathless… bubbling over with nervous energy. Captured for an interview, the other half of Karan Arjun opens his mouth about the films and hmmm… matters of the heart
A basalt high-rise jabs into the sky. From the window, you can watch seagulls flying above the aquamarine waves. A servant in a psychedelic shirt strolls in with cups of hot brew. From below, people shout, “Hey! Shah Rukh, neeche dekh na. (Look down)” He leans against the railing of his seventh-floor terrace and waves to the crowd. You know this is success.
Zoom across a mini-theatre. Hordes wait for a glimpse of the star. Inside, he switches to his game for the film called Chahat. From rural joker to city slicker, he pulls together the select audience. Ramesh Sippy, K. Sashilaal Nair… everyone at the unofficial preview makes their own appropriate comments.
Unpredictability is the most fascinating quality in an actor... Shah Rukh Khan has it. Critics say he is prone to exaggeration, that he can be repetitive. And yet he makes a determined attempt to step out of the mundane. In an era when actors talk more about high-heeled shoes, sleek cars and designer clothes, Shah Rukh Khan's only sign of vanity is his blow-dried hair.
He has chosen roles that have shattered accepted stereotypes. SRK tackles his work with the ruthlessness of a bull in a china shop.
He delves into the bloodstream of his characters. Yet, of course, he still has many miles and films to go... to polish his artistry. At times, you even feel that Shah Rukh Khan will never be a star... A star is someone who carries his personality from film to film. This 29-year-old man is transforming.
On the sets, he is the epitome of a joker, shooting from the hip, giving generously to everyone.
Away from the tumultuous crowd, however, you spot traces of sadness in his clear brown eyes. Yet he will laugh it off. You tell him he is eccentric, an anarchist, that he likes to stir up trouble. Create chaos. Again, he laughs it off.
On this busy day, as he runs from studio to story sessions to unwanted visitors (ask me!), I delve into Shah's mind.
Now, after eleven months, you finally have a release and a hit!
Good! You obviously missed me a lot.
Get serious.
Okay.
Why don't you say anything?
You asked me to be serious.
I never asked you to be silent.
Peace! Karan Arjun is a hit and I am happy for Rakesh Roshan. He really needed this huge hit after Khel and King Uncle.
But you didn't have a big role.
Umm... ya, maybe you are right. But believe me, I am very happy for everyone who was associated with the film - Salman Khan, Kajol, Mamta Kulkarni and cinematographer Kaka Takhur.
We talked about your role, remember?
Well, after three years in the industry, after Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na, Baazigar... this role has nothing to offer me as an actor. Yes, it was my first real masala film with multiple stars. I have no regrets.
Rakesh Roshan says you tend to go for effects. He had to tone down your performance.
Yes! I overdo it. Maybe he was right to ask me to tone it down a bit.
Are you doing his next film Koyla?
I have no idea. It's a good role... Maybe we could work something out if I can spare the dates.
What inspires you to act?
To be honest, I don't know. For me, acting is about reliving childhood fantasies. It also means indirectly experiencing emotions. There are many things you can't do in real life - like singing, dancing, fighting - that I can do on screen. I release my pent-up emotions through acting.
You think acting is cathartic.
Hmm... catharsis is too serious a word. But yes, it is certainly an outlet. Our ethical, moral values prevent us from doing certain things, but films allow you that freedom. If I didn't have such an outlet, I might be frustrated.
What is the relationship between Shah Rukh Khan the human and Shah Rukh Khan the actor?
I feel totally alienated. I am a third person when I look and talk about my character. Even in the screen tests, I never discuss myself. It is always Rahul in Darr or Roop Kumar Rathod in Chahat.
I can do so many roles because I distance myself from my personality. I like to experiment - I am never embarrassed to look ugly or pathetic. I am passionate about constructing a character until the first print of the film is out. Then I move on... I have to be satisfied that the job is well done. For me, it is like building a ship in a bottle, I want to see the final product... I always compare actors to painters. Both create new things without considering the outcome, good or bad.
Are you excited about every project?
Yes, some of my films have taken time to complete... But I'm just as committed as I was on the first day of shooting.
Oh Darling Yeh Hai India by Ketan Mehta took so long to reach the finish line.
Yes, it took a while... I am happy with my performance... that's all that matters.
Do you think the film's music is up to the mark?
The director is the best person to answer that. But I liked that romantic song between Deepa Sahi and me (me too). I also like the Baap song.
Going back to acting, do you look in the mirror and develop new expressions?
(Curls his lip grotesquely) See, that's a new expression I've developed. Great, huh? I'm going to use it in one of my films. I'm like putty in my hands; I can re-mold myself in any way. When I'm home alone, I sit there and develop new expressions. See, man, there's no right or wrong way to act... Acting is about having fun. You just go ahead and try new things...
I remember a scene from Home Alone II. The kid gets a new pair of roller skates, but he doesn't want to get them dirty. When he finally actually puts them on, his feet have gotten too big for them. It's similar in acting, you should let go, not hold back.
What is the most disappointing aspect of your job?
Experimentation is not encouraged. My directors always try to rein me in.
You still can't decide where to go?
No, because I believe the director is the boss. Whenever any of my suggestions is rejected, I say to myself, "Okay, man, I will use this brilliant idea when I make a film myself." I still feel like a fighter at times... It's so hard to try and convince people... some say I'm gimmicky, that I just have a style. I take that as a compliment because they also call Kamal Haasan gimmicky.
Has the flattery gone to your head?
How should I know? Have I ever bullied you in the last two or three years? Have I chased you around for photo sessions and interviews? Am I not telling you all my closely guarded secrets? (Laughs)
Ha! Ha! Go on.
This celebrity business is rubbish. Before I know it, there will be someone else to do the 500 things I will never be able to do... I guess I've just become a little more nervous... Deadlines, dress rehearsals, discussions irritate me a lot. My patience is on a short fuse. But I'm trying to stop firing. Why blame my job for my shortcomings?
What about rankings? No 1, No 2... No 1?
I've said this before. Phones have numbers. People have emotions. I'll kill you if you ask me such irrelevant details.
Okay. Is a good face a must for an actor?
Not really. It's just an advantage to have an expressive face. It's more important to have a sense of space. An actor needs to know how to use his body in front of the camera. My theater background helped me a lot. Hands, legs... Body movements need to look harmonious in front of the camera.
Then why do you sometimes exaggerate?
I exaggerate because I can act.
Let me rephrase the question: Why do you always have to put yourself in the spotlight?
Of course I go for effects... 101 percent. I make my films for the audience in the stands. When I perform, I always try to imagine myself as part of the audience, whether I would like what I am doing. For me, acting is not an ego trip.
So when will you be satisfied?
Well, there are some performances that I like. But it's a bit much to ask of me and the actor in me to be completely satisfied with some of my roles. But go ahead; admit that I am your favorite actor.
I'm supposed to interview you.
Okay. Then go and ask your favorite actor all the questions you've wanted to ask but were afraid to.
How much has your formal education helped?
Education definitely gives you a more analytical mind. I read, so I naturally become more aware. I take a lot of expressions from comics myself. I have a visual sense, so I can empathise with the characters I read about. For example, Prince Mishkin in Dostoevsky's Idiot or Froudy in Hitchcock's Guide to the Galaxy. You can instantly identify with such characters if you are educated. I felt that my role in Baazigar was an educated one. Certain scenes in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa could not have done without a level of understanding and intelligence.
How do you get on with the Mani Kauls and the Subhash Ghais of the world?
Again, because of my education. I went to St. Columbus School, an Irish institution. We wore blazers, our hair had to be short and we had to speak with a neat accent. In college, Madonna and Hum Log were popular. But the pseudos insisted that Madonna was nothing but a bourgeois manifestation of our proletariat instincts... And while I was studying mass communication, I met idiots who wanted to make beautiful films on sati and dowry. If I were to meet a St. Columban today, he would probably grin, "God! Look at you! What are you doing in Hindi films?" The point is - I can adapt to all kinds of requirements.
So much for acting! Now tell me why you hate Anil Kapoor?
I don't hate him. You shouldn't ask me this... You have seen us together.
Appearances can be deceiving.
Oh yeah?
Yes.
No, yaar. The controversy between Anil and me has been fuelled by the media.
Apparently you broke the ice while shooting for Trimurti in Kulu Manali.
Ha! Yes, we met on the flight... as usual, I started teasing him. He is a nice guy. Believe me, we have no problems. I always make fun of him. He also makes fun of me. There is no animosity at all.
It must be traumatic to repeat the scenes with Anil that you did with Sanjay Dutt.
Traumatic in the sense that I miss Sanju like hell. It's also painful because repeating something I've done before is killing me. There's my third eye that keeps telling me I'm fucking screwing up. When you reshoot a scene, a lot of the earlier freshness and spontaneity is lost.
Damn! You look insecure. It seems that you are making up with the magazines you were once angry with.
I can never be insecure. It's just that I don't hold grudges. The magazines have been reaching out for a long time. So I have extended the olive branch. I know what they stand for. I have even started enjoying their games and double standards. Earlier, some of them used to strike a pose on the sets of Dil Aashna Hai. But now they are bending over backwards to make up. I enjoy it.
The gossip doesn't bother you anymore?
I am annoyed at the thought that journalists can do anything to sell their magazines. I was hurt when a magazine called me communal... because it implied that I had made fun of a Hindu god because I am a Muslim. Please! That is the last thing I would do. And in today's circumstances, why add fuel to the fire? I have never made fun of any religion. I wouldn't dare. I think it was an absolutely vulgar and mean article. Look, man, heaven and hell are here. You have to give an account of your conduct while you are alive.
Didn't you stop signing films with Juhi Chawla because of the gossip?
Yes! I felt very uncomfortable. Imagine two costars can't even sit together and chat without creating a scandal. Maybe Juhi too feels a bit uncomfortable about it. Well, it's cool, we are profiles, we are meant to work here. I am friendly with all my heroines - Juhi, Kajol, Manisha and Madhuri.
The rumour mongers can go away. Why can't it be swallowed that I have a solid relationship with my wife? I sleep with her and sleep very happily. Look, I have invested 11 years in the relationship and I still feel like being with her, holding her, hugging her. In fact, she feels sorry for me because I am not like the guy the magazines make me out to be.
What about the talk about your property worth Rs 75 lakhs being confiscated by the authorities?
Well, at least you got the figure right! One newspaper put it as Rs 12 crores. Imagine having that kind of money!
Okay. So what happened?
See, whenever you buy an asset above Rs 10 lakhs, you fill a form called I-37... which means the government has the right to come and inspect your property. When the officials came to see the property I had bought, they felt it was worth much more and took it away from me. Big deal. It happens everywhere. Just because of my name, masala was added to the reports. I have never evaded taxes, my accounts are clean! I have a clear conscience. Happy?
Why do you make shabby commercials?
Because I can make the money and have the freedom to make non-shabby films. You can't really control the quality of the commercials. Don't you like my suit commercials? That was neat.
Hmmm... Are you very possessive?
I am possessive of the people I love and care about. I am also possessive of silly things like paper envelopes and ugly plastic keychains. I was once insanely possessive of my wife. I hated it when she wore a white shirt or let her hair down or took her clothes off to go swimming. I even got annoyed when she spoke to a six-year-old boy. Now I am more relaxed, I am more confident.
Do you ever get violent?
Not anymore. I rarely lose my temper. When I get violent, I can kill. And I'm not very proud of that fact. Maybe that's why people think my fight scenes look so natural. But I will slap you if you write mean things.
Go on. Make yourself happy…
Ha! Ha! Ha!
Do you cry often?
I cry when I'm very happy... or when I miss my parents a lot. I cried when I got my first Filmfare Award. And I cried hysterically after watching Untamed Heart... the hero who died in the film reminded me of my father.
Why do you think people like such a terribly selfish and unbearable guy like you?
(Laughs wildly) Because I'm just another normal guy in an extraordinary bunch. That's what makes me special.