Shah Rukh Khan – Brave Heart
Jitesh Pillai
Like it or not, it's one of those days... You feel as down as a gambler on his last ten dollars. In this deadpan state, you mourn the state of films and film stars. What are they all about? Good question, no answer.
Someone is reading your mind. In an instant, the shutter slams, the camera whirs. You run for cover. But it's too late. He's back to elevating a banal scene to dizzying heights. And you're hooked again. Shah Rukh Khan has this gift of luring you back to the studios... again and again.
Just as he loathes reporters digging in the mud, he also loathes typecasting. So he pores over the smallest details of every film at hand until it fits. No doubt there have been misjudgments of late. But what the hell, no problem!
Despite blunders like Oh! Darling Yeh Hai India, Guddu and Zamaana Deewana, he doesn't behave like an out-of-work dervish. Nor does he have the demeanor of a fading brat enjoying his last moments of glory. Even in the most excruciating potboiler, SRK continues to sing, whistle and even slip into serious mode.
A busload of students descended on Mehboob Studio today, trying their best to make conversation. The obligatory air of affability is gone; he is in his element - oozing stupid gossip and quick-witted retorts. He imitates certain actors, he steals from his own patented expressions too.
At home, when he is not teetering on the ledge, seven stories above sea level, he tries to get me to play computer games and wrestle with the overactive Chewbacca.
Finally, all is quiet. They fire a barrage of questions... he parries them like a wannabe fencer. So here is the duologue:
Aren't you depressed? Though you gave so much of yourself in Oh! Darling Yeh Hai India, Zamaana Deewana and Guddu, they turned out to be wishy-washy. Do
I look depressed? Believe me; I am not affected by the failure of these films. I never take credit or discredit for my hits or flops. All those nights I spent on Oh! Darling... were exciting. The problem was that the three films became drawn-out affairs. That made me sad. But as long as people come out of the theatres feeling good about my performances, I am happy. A film that cannot hold your interest for "two and a half hours" is a bad film. There is no other way.
Compared to Zamaana Deewana, Ramesh Sippy's earlier films - Akayla and Bhrashtachar - seemed like Gone With The Wind.
(Laughs) Not Dr Zhivago?
After the disasters, what would you advise Ramesh Sippy, Ketan Mehta and Prem Lalwani?
I have nothing to advise them. How can any of us ever forget for a moment that Ramesh Sippy made Sholay and other unforgettable films? Ketan made the excellent Bhavni Bhavai, Holi and Mirch Masala.
They have approached me for their next projects. All I can request them is to make their films faster. All these films were to release soon after Deewana. In the meantime, so many things changed. In the end, we got it wrong.
The films I completed quickly - like Deewana, Chamatkar, Baazigar... Darr took just 32 days... and Karan Arjun which took 45 days... worked well for me. It says a lot about the organisational skills and clarity of the people in charge. When a film takes a long time, somewhere the clarity of thought gets clouded.
If I were to sign a film today, I would insist that it doesn't take more than three... OK, eight months. I'm not interested beyond that. Trimurti has gone relatively smoothly. Anil Kapoor was signed last year, some of the footage had to be reshot, but we're almost done now.
Do your directors take you for granted?
I let them take me for granted. I don't mean to sound immodest but I spoil my directors. Aditya Chopra calls me the hardest working yet most underpaid actor. I beat myself up in the process of creating a film. Yesterday I jumped off the fourth floor of a building. I didn't have to do that, as you know.
Quite often I feel I have become too mundane. I cater to everyone's whims and fancies except my own. If a director wants to take his wife out for a barbecue... if a costar has scheduling issues... the filmmaker knows I will be shooting past three in the morning, he knows I will make concessions. I don't throw tantrums, that's why I'm taken for granted. (grins wryly) Shah Rukh ke saath sab chalta hai. I think ultimately it's all worth it... for those magical moments on screen.
How do you look back on your four years in Film Nagri?
All this is like a dream. I get paid to live my dreams. Years ago, all I had seen were the posters of Subhash Ghai's Ram Lakhan outside the Holiday Inn.
Today I work with him. Yash Chopra and Amitabh Bachchan were unattainable names; today I sit at a table and talk to them. Oh my God! I saw Deewar when I was in school... and now I'm talking to the man!
What do you miss?
I don't have time to catch up on anything. I don't even have time to think about what I'm doing. Sad. Sometimes I wonder how come I haven't broken yet. I'm afraid I might stop growing as an actor... But I'm going to overcome that fear. That Billy Joel song keeps coming to mind, there's so much to do... and there are only 24 hours in a day.
You seem to have reconciled yourself to the fact that you cannot buck the system.
I know that I don't make masterpieces, I also know that I'm not a very great actor. It squeezes the life out of me... but I think I do very different things. I've also convinced myself that I'm the best.
Modest, humble.
Really, I have always had that fighting spirit. I was brilliant, all through school and college. I was not exactly the regular good student. I won the Swords of Honour at school… excelled at college… everything was mine. I never studied regularly, I created chaos in school. I traumatised the teachers, yet everyone thought I was charming. I am used to being the best. Believe me, I am not boasting, I just have to excel in everything I do. I am not conceited, I am genuine.
I am not great looking, I know I can be mistaken for a supporting actor; I can blend in with the extras in a studio. I don't have any of the so-called nakhras. Yash Chopra calls me 'Tapori', Subhash Ghai calls me 'Mundu', the guy who serves the tea.
So what! As soon as the camera is turned on, I transform! I can do anything.
If I don't believe I'm the best, how am I supposed to be able to convince an audience of 30 million of my abilities?
What frustrates you most about yourself?
Often I feel like I'm forced to use the same language, make the same formulaic films, accept the heartless attitudes...
As much as I overreact in the films, I'm far more controlled in real life. I don't make a fuss about anything. I love Michael Jackson, but if I were to meet him, I'd keep my cool. Same with Kamal Haasan. When I first met him, I wanted to touch him... to find out if he was real. But I didn't.
What are the advantages of being an educated actor?
Education gives you the privilege of not taking yourself too seriously. You are not afraid to make fun of your body. I have no qualms about playing a eunuch; I have not a shred of arrogance in me. I feel and think like a cartoon. Batman Forever is a great film. But you know what? I did exactly what Batman did when I jumped from the fourth floor yesterday.
When you have read books and studied, you begin to realize that you have stopped thinking, feeling. You become schematic. Then you don't want to answer certain uncomfortable questions, you push them aside. You run the risk of becoming vain. Like right now I'm trying not to think about household problems or anything so bothersome. I would rather talk about the day's filming, how good or bad I was.
And?
I have this theory about acting… If you are in love with yourself, you cannot be an actor because it means you are independent. But if you are not happy with who you are, then you are indirectly living other people's lives… Sometimes I feel like I don't know who the real Shah Rukh is. Part of me feels so unreal; I live in a fantasy world. And the other part of me seems to be quite sensitive, more emotionally vulnerable.
I am supposed to be quite a talker, yet strangely, when I am with friends, I can be completely quiet. In fact, Gauri's friends tell her that I am damn boring when she is not around…
Has life changed drastically since your days in Delhi?
Not really, materially I'm perhaps more carefree. And this morning I discovered something strangely new about myself. I've started spending more time in the bathroom! I used to be out in five to seven minutes. Now I spend at least half an hour in there. I don't know what that says about me... maybe it means I'm trying to spend more time on myself.
Recently Mahesh Bhatt told me that I've become more 'crystallized'. I like that word. He thinks I'm becoming more intelligent about so many things.
How have your personal experiences helped your performances?
Hmmm… see, there was this scene in Duplicate: I am being coddled by Farida Jalal, who played my mother. There was warmth in that scene. I did exactly what I did with my mother. I used to cuddle up to her, let her hold me in her arms.
Personally, I don't mind hitting a woman, but if a scene demands it, I will do it. If a lady has to hit me in a scene, I will allow her. There is nothing macho involved. I am not worried about maintaining the image of a conventional hero.
I have also come to the conclusion that in this business, you can either work hard or think hard. I have decided to work hard. Aamir Khan has chosen to think hard. I believe he is happier and more successful. In a year's time, I will also start thinking about my work. Physically, I have worked very very hard. Now I should slow down the pace. I should think more about my performances; figure out how to improve myself.
I'm capable of surprising myself. There was a scene in DDLJ. I cried and I just let go. My tears were real, I wasn't acting. But when it comes to fight scenes, I've already started faking it. I've developed this set of mannerisms to give the impression of threat - I grind my teeth, flare my nostrils.
Would you admit that showbiz is packed with unbearable male chauvinists?
Yes, but you have to deal with it. One hero told me that I shouldn't let my wife wear shorts. He couldn't understand that I like my wife in shorts. I'm not at all insecure, she looks good in them. So why worry?
You seem to be very inspired by Amitabh Bachchan in Ram Jaane, your film under production.
I am inspired only by the best. (Loud laughter) Looking back, so many of my scenes can be traced back to Amitabh Bachchan's Agneepath. Phew, what a performance! I also had Nana Patekar and Jackie Shroff in mind for Ram Jaane. I like what I did; it's a role that is very close to my heart. No, actually every film I do is special.
How was it working with the ultimate Sridevi in Army?
Man! How you rave about Sridevi, Amitabh... and Shah Rukh Khan.
If you insist.
The first day we met, I wanted to tell her that I had come to see her dance. She thanked me modestly. The second day, she didn't shoot because she wasn't feeling too well. The third day, I asked her how she was feeling. And that was it!
So the chatterbox has finally been stunned.
If you insist. But I will say that she is an awfully hardworking actress. She may give the impression of only coming alive once the camera is on, but that is a myth. She is just too focused. I should know because I am equally focused. Except Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit, very few heroines have that quality. For being in the industry for so long, they still approach it with so much vigour. That is star power. None of us have it.
The older group of actors has so much substance. When I called my generation of heroes 'junk food', I was not taking a personal swipe at any star. To use a food analogy, the old-timers are like tandoori chicken. There is so much about them... their films, their performances, their lifestyles. We are the hamburgers. I would like to be tandoori chicken instead.
I made Army as a kind gesture for Mukul Anand's MAD Films. But on the first day of shooting, I got a big pay packet. I look pretty cool in the film. Now all my other producers want me to look like that. And talk about herd mentality!
Shah Rukh Khan looking good? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?
Okay, smart guy. I'll catch you one day.
Sure, the day you stop repeating yourself as an actor. Well, that will be a big challenge. Right?
History always repeats itself. I want to think that about myself too. But admit, deep down you can't help but admit that I am your favorite actor and the best.
I am not saying anything. Tell me, why do you always attack Govinda? He says you are paranoid about him.
Govinda? Not at all. He is one of the finest actors of this country. After watching Coolie No 1, I called him and left a message on his answering machine, saying that he is God. He makes the most incredible scenes look believable. His sense of comic timing is impeccable. I tried to find faults in him in Coolie No 1. Unfortunately, he was faultless.
In the past, there was a misunderstanding with Chi Chi. He was hurt by something I had said. But what I had said was meant without malice. To clear the air, I apologised to him. The superfluous episode is over. Govinda is too nice a guy to be at odds with.
You have often said that you don't feel insecure... how can you be so confident?
Professionally insecure? To be honest, I don't. I don't care if an actor's film is successful, or if another actor has 10 hits. I just say that I am the best on the scene. In ten years, you can ask me the same thing in Hollywood. I hope God doesn't get annoyed with me when I say that I am made to be special.
I know that I am too full of myself. And I like it that way. I have no competition, nobody can attack me. Even if I accept the fact that there is competition, it would mean that I have no confidence in myself. Let me assure you that it is not at all inappropriate. I want to make sure that when I die, it is declared a national holiday. (Grins) There remains the fact that Amitabh Bachchan was and is the greatest of superstars. We don't even have the size of his toenails.
Do you believe in God?
Yes, there is a power that guides us. But I rarely pray. I prayed a lot when my mother was in intensive care. Five minutes later, she was dead. Recently, when my sister got sick, all those horrible visions of my mother's suffering came back to me. I cried and prayed. The next morning, my sister was unconscious. And yet she recovered. I am grateful to someone up there. If they took something from me, they also gave me more than I deserve.
What is the craziest film you have been offered?
Every other film I get offered is crazy. I got one offer... I think it was a horror film. According to the story, I can't go through with my relationships because of my past crimes. Every time I plan to love a woman, something terrible happens and I can't... There was another offer that was so weird and disgusting; I did my best to keep a straight face. (Breaks down) The producer told me that I could have a great time with all three of my heroines in the film.
What are your five favorite excuses to avoid work?
I'm in the bathroom. I'm busy. I left for filming. You made a great (read lousy) movie. I'm really pressed for time, meet me in 2025...
And what is interesting these days?
I have seen some interesting films like Batman Forever and The Mask. I would like to do The World According To Garp, that was really funny. I think comedy is a serious business. The greatest actors in the world are comedians. It is a myth that they cannot be dramatic. In fact, they are terrific at acting. We have to look behind the faces they make. Look at Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Mehmood, Johnny Lever and Eddie Murphy...
The other day you told me that you have become more relaxed.
That is because you told me that I am irresponsible. OK, I am. But without Gauri, I would be reckless. I would take things to extremes. Maybe I would be a drug addict or worse. She has made me understand so many little things. I would soon be out of the picture without her. I heard this bizarre song by Bappi Lahiri that goes, You are my chicken fry, you are my fish fry. I would like to sing to Gauri that she is my air conditioner. She helps me stay cool.
It seems that Mamta Kulkarni wants a husband like you.
But Shah Rukh Khan is booked for this lifetime. I still feel great about Mamta's comment. Which shows that she has good taste, that she is intellectually advanced.