Shah Rukh Khan opens the floodgates!
Suguna Sundaram
A thermos of chai, a packet of cigarettes, an air-conditioned van and Shah Rukh Khan beside me is paradise enough! Shah Rukh is the easiest star to interview. He is approachable, articulate and knows what he is talking about. And an interview with him is always an entertaining event. Khan's comparisons are as simple as a child's, based on the philosophy, "If you like me, I like you too". And yes, he is particularly personable. He calls a rose a rose and sometimes dubs it a thorn, just for effect. After a little polite conversation and some rude ones, we talk about the film business. His home production Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani is peeking around the corner. He has been called predictable but in a face-to-face conversation, you never know what he will say next.
They go from success to success. What's next?
I don't know. Success is so subjective; I don't think it's successful.
Do you judge it by public admiration or by ticket sales?
I am not naive enough to think that any of the adulation is directed at me. It is directed at the films I do and the characters I play. My friends in the industry and I find it surprising that I am a star. Aziz Mirza says, 'Hey, how can you be such a big star?' Juhi, Kajol and I find it strange to think of ourselves as stars. People call us that. I am not naive and I have neither worked towards it nor behaved like a star.
What does celebrity mean to you?
Celebrity is what Mr Bachchan is, what Michael Jackson, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan are. When I see them on screen or in person, they exude this aura.
Don't you evoke the same feeling in the audience?
No! Anyone can get a reaction. You do two films and you get a reaction. When fans respond to me, it is because of something I have done in the films, not because of Shah Rukh as a person. It is wrong to assume that KKHH took me to the pinnacle of success only because of me. Any actor who had danced on Chaiyyan Chaiyyan or had been in KKHH or Dil Se... would have received similar adulation. If Akshay Kumar or Govinda had done this song, they would have danced better than me. The song would have looked more beautiful because their personality would have added something to the song. There are 30 or 40 people involved in creating this phenomenon and evoking this reaction.
Your body of work is no small achievement.
The bigger the body of work, the less credit goes to me. I just chose the right films and I'm very proud of that. For me, fame would mean having 10 such films at the end of my career.
Why do people invest so much love and admiration when it is not the person they are targeting?
What do they like and dislike about you? Why do they stop liking you after some time? Do they suddenly realise they have been stupid? If they stop liking Shah Rukh or anyone else, it has to do with their past work, the films you have done, the choices you have made and the conviction you have as an actor. It would be related to my body of work. Either because I look old, I have stopped acting well or I have stopped being in good films. (In a raspy voice) I never want to think that they hate me because they hate Shah Rukh the person. I just happen to be part of the product. Because I am the hero in a masculine, hero-oriented film industry and I appear on screen, I get most of the credit.
What do you add to your work that is uniquely you?
I am only a small part of my own success. I would hate to think that I fail because I am a failure. I want to believe that my films, choices, looks, songs, lyrics, dialogues, dance directors, cinematographers and directors failed. When I fail, I want to believe it happened because there were so many people who let me down. So if I am successful today, it is not fair to say that it is only because of me. I accept that I am a star. I sell myself well, my films do well, I am talented, I just happen to be the person in the front row. Mahesh Bhatt had told me, though, "You are just a means to an end, not the end in itself." And that is what I want to believe, in both cases, success and failure.
Does the process of your work excite you or is it a burden?
Whether it's acting or producing, I love what I do! It's strange when actors say that success robs them of their privacy, blah blah... These are not sacrifices, they are occupational hazards. Coal mine workers are destined to turn black, nuclear physicists face the risk of radiation exposure, soldiers can be shot in combat, entrepreneurs are at the mercy of a fluctuating stock market... anything can happen to anyone in any line of work! My occupational hazard is that I have no privacy! It's no big deal! When I decided to be an actor, I chose all of that. And if it weren't so, I would feel worse. If I wasn't recognized on the streets, or I wasn't served first in a hotel, or I went to a disco and they didn't play my songs, I would feel awful. Some actors say, "God, I have to wear sunglasses..." So someone said, "Actors are the strangest people. They spend their whole lives trying to become famous and the rest of their lives trying to hide their faces behind sunglasses so no one recognizes them." That's really silly. I've worked hard to get to this stage. Why should I wear sunglasses?
Did you expect KKHH to be so successful?
I knew it would be huge because it's the kind of film that just couldn't go wrong. Although an old story, it was woven together fantastically, with an amazing script, lovely music and great performances from the girls. I was quite nice in the film. I was supposed to play a foil, be helpful, and I think I did quite well.
You get awarded for just being nice in a movie?
You get the greatest things in life just for being nice.
When does a film satisfy you?
The films that satisfy me the most are DDLJ, KHKN, Ram Jaane, Yes Boss, Koyla and of course, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. I like them because I got to do something a little different as a hero.
Baazigar is a defining film as I like to believe I introduced the villain as a hero. If I become an all-time star, Baazigar would be one of the turning points of my career. KKHH was another milestone as it took me from playing a college boy to more mature roles. I should be able to slowly slip into the roles where I can play my age as I grow older. Maybe because of KKHH I will linger as long as Sean Connery.
Do good movies necessarily require growth as an actor?
Not necessarily. You have to figure out certain things that you do as an actor. I'm a very stylish performer and I pride myself on it. I like the fact that I do everything with style. I like acting because I like selling dreams, not nightmares, on 70mm Technicolor. You have to be everything a man dreams of being. I'm not an acting teacher, I'm an entertainer. To have thousands of people love you in your movies, you can't act like a star. I can be arrogant and conceited about acting because nobody takes more pride in their acting than I do. But there is humility in saying that I know I'm just a guy meant to make you laugh. I'm the clown in the circus. I don't just intend to do comedy, I intend to do entertainment.
What films are you doing now?
I am not in anyone's film until it actually starts. Otherwise, I am in anyone's film at the moment. No films with Mani Ratnam, one with Ram Gopal Varma. Yash Chopra's Mohabbatein with Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Uday Chopra. Venus' Josh, again with Ash and KC Bokadia's social film Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, directed by Adiyaman, with Salman and Madhuri. K. Shashilaal Nair's One 2 Ka 4 with Jackie and Juhi. Raj Kumar Santoshi's next with Aamir and Ash and the next ones by David Dhawan and Rajeev Mehra. Kamal Haasan's Hey! Ram with Rani. I have signed for Sanjay Bhansali's Devdas, with Ash and Madhuri. Yash Chopra's film will follow soon. He is doing production for PBDHH and has been kind enough to wait till its release.
Do you aspire to make Hollywood films?
No, I have enough here. It is not necessary to have a burning desire to be internationally known. I am content to be a frog in a well. As far as directors, technicians, music and dance directors and so on go, there is so much talent in this country, more than anywhere else in the world. If they do not recognize them abroad, it is their loss, not ours.
What role would you pick out for a director and get him to make a film for you?
It might be flattering if it happened, but I don't think I'm intelligent enough to think up films or roles for myself. But no director worth his salt will make a film just because an actor wants him to do it. I could do it, but I shouldn't, because I don't make films for myself, I make films for people.
Which director understands you completely as an actor?
Mahesh Bhatt! He understands my interpretations and lets me execute them, even though they can be a little vague and harebrained. My interpretations are not so clearly defined to be understood by everyone. Maybe the fault lies with me. There is something wrong with the way I lay out scenes. In any of my films, you will see a lot of me. Strangely, the films I don't like and the films I like are not that successful. I like films that focus on technology. I have made films with good stories but it is time I refine the look of my films. That is why I believe in technology too.
Is your production company Dreamz Unlimited a step in this direction? What is your contribution as a producer?
Yes. I demarcate the work areas. I sit on the scripts of each of my films, as well as the ones I produce. Jai Mehta does the business and office work related to it. Aziz sat on the scripts, besides directing. Juhi did the promotions and required pre-release advertising. Yash Johar did the actual production and I did the technical stuff like equipment to organize the look.
On average, how many films can you make at the same time as an actor and producer?
Three or four at the most. There's too much going on at the moment.
Will you direct films now that you've gotten into the technical side of filmmaking?
Not for the next seven or eight years.
Do you think the bigger a man gets, the more enemies he makes?
No. I would be ungrateful if I said that people have not treated me well. I am a typical example of people treating successful people well and I work hard for that. I do things with a lot of warmth and openness. People who don't understand friendship might interpret things differently. My wife said something wonderful to me, "If they don't write about Shah Rukh Khan, who will they write about?" But I don't understand it and don't know how to react to it. I still think that I have no enemies. Or maybe I'm not big enough yet.
How much time do you spend with your family?
I am always with my family and friends. I would love to spend as much time with Aryan as my parents did with me. I think I was raised quite well. There is nothing special that I am planning or thinking about for Aryan's future. I am not thinking about leaving him any money. I will give him a good childhood in the sense that I will be a loving father. He should be able to talk to me when he wants to and not have to talk when he doesn't want to. He should be able to lead his own life. I want him to be educated, well-read and athletic. But it doesn't matter what I want because he will ultimately become what he wants to be.
Why sport?
I'm sporty myself. I want him to be like that too, but my wife tells me that it's not what we want that matters, but what he wants. The name your parents give you is the only thing they decide, without giving the child a choice. The rest is all his decisions. If he wants, he could change that too, but I really hope he likes his name!