The many faces of Shah Rukh Khan
Ryan Srephen
He is like an ideal three-hour commercial flick. Packed with all the ingredients that make an entertainer. He makes you laugh, makes you think. His agile, expressive face keeps your eyes glued to him. He speaks strongly with his hands. His vibrant energy is infectious. He talks at the speed of light. He charms you completely! And true to his promise, you will not be left disappointed after meeting him. You will surely have a lot of fun. Like I did during that hour-long conversation with… Shah Rukh Khan!
How are you feeling at the moment?
I'm a little tired at the moment. Because yesterday I was stuck in my car for ten hours because of the rain and the traffic jam that followed. On the other hand, I'm happy. I'm happy that I finished work early today. And in general, I'm going through a pleasant phase in my life. I'm calm, cool and composed. And I'm looking forward to the birth of my child. Everything seems to be going well and life is looking rosy! (Laughs)
Do you feel like you've become more level-headed since you first started working in film?
Level-headed? In what way?
In terms of how you deal with the media. You are not as brutal and impatient as you once were. Do you agree?
I just had an argument with someone.
But you don't raise your hands against anyone these days. At least, you haven't heard or read of any such incidents recently!
I almost hit that person earlier! I haven't become more balanced. I'm still raging with anger. There's a fire inside me. Yes, that's true, I'm more at peace with the work I do and the people I work with. Certain work-related factors can sometimes upset you...
Has your intensity dropped?
I don't think so. You think that because you've seen me whenever I'm tired or maybe it's been too long since I've yelled at you! (Laughs) I guess people just stay away from me!
Has the thought of fatherhood changed you?
No, I still can't identify with the fact that I'm going to be a father. I'm excited about my baby; it's like a new toy, a new publication, a new car, a new house, a new pair of jeans or shoes. I'm not downplaying the child's status at all. I suppose I won't know how good a father I'll be and how it will change me as a person until after the child is born.
Are you nervous or worried?
No, I'm neither nervous nor worried. I love children and I'm actually convinced that I'll have a wonderful child and be an equally wonderful father.
In this industry, every time an actor gets involved or becomes a father, they say it affects his popularity. Do you agree with that statement?
No, they said that to me when I got married too. I think my popularity has not decreased since '91, it has only increased. So marriage has been good for me, a child will be even better.
How do you find working with Mani Ratnam? You have just completed a 20-day schedule with him.
He is a wonderful human being, a consummate gentleman, like my other filmmakers, Ramesh Sippy, Rajeev Mehra, Yashji and Aditya Chopra. These people respect you as a human being and an actor. I don't need to say what a great filmmaker Mani is. For the first two years after you come into films, you don't know where you are going as an actor and then suddenly you discover yourself. That, I think, is what I have done in the process of making so many films. Every actor reaches a stage where he wants to do a certain kind of cinema. I think after six years, with Mani Ratnam, I have found the kind of cinema I want to do. I love his way of making films. And I say this not just from watching his films, but from working with him. Mani is just the right guy and more.
Has this schedule with Mani changed your idea of acting?
I am not being pompous when I say; I know all kinds of acting. That is why I have worked with people from Mani Kaul to Mani Ratnam. And they all come back at the end of the film and say, 'You are a good actor.' Nobody has ever told me I am bad. Except Kundan Shah. But if they say you are bad, it is the biggest compliment you can get! (Laughs) I really know what form of acting to slip into, when and with whom. I can underplay my performance and I can be intrusive. Yes, there is a new aspect of acting that I am trying out with Mani, which of course he introduced to me.
Subhash Ghai said in a recent interview that you are like a child who needs to be controlled. Do you agree with him?
I agree with all my directors. I have worked with him and I guess if he feels that way, it is true.
Subhash Ghai and you seemed to have had a lot of problems during the production of Pardes.
Many people have spoken to me about it, but that is not true. I spoke to him, but I could not meet him as he was under a lot of pressure.
But if you go through his interviews, there is a subtle hint of a problem between the two of you.
Is there? I don't know. I haven't read his interviews.
How is Pardes doing?
It's pretty consistent.
Yes Boss was not successful in the hinterlands.
(Interrupts) I want to believe that the film is a big hit everywhere. While you are interested in seeing where the film did not do well, I am interested in seeing where it did do well.
But it is considered a city film. It has not worked with the masses...
(Interrupts again) What is a city film? Go on the streets and ask them which film they like the most, it is Yes Boss. The people on the streets are the masses, aren't they? Commercially, Yes Boss has done amazing business worldwide. In the sixth week, the collections were 85% everywhere, which is good. Well, it has not done well in Indore and Bhiwandi. And yes, in London and America it is a bigger hit than any of my hits. People call Yes Boss a city film because it is set in the middle class. It is moralistic, not regressive. Many people told us to change the title because it would not work in the hinterland. It was not meant to be a film for the hinterland. Koyla was, but it did not work well in the cities or the hinterland. It made money, but those are not the only criteria.
A lot of people didn't like Yes Boss...
(Surprised) It's quite strange because everyone I meet tells me they loved the film more than any of my other films. I haven't had a single negative response to Yes Boss, apart from a geek from one of the trade magazines who asked me, "How can the hero of the film be a pimp?" I was shocked to hear people interpreting my role as that of a pimp. Even assuming that the hero in Yes Boss is a pimp, it's a character! Who said a hero can't be a pimp? I've thrown women off rooftops! I think being a pimp isn't so bad compared to that!
Do you like Yes Boss?
I liked him, but I liked Koyla more. Ninety percent of the people I met told me they didn't like Koyla, but I loved him. Because it was a different experience for me as an actor. Not that Yes Boss didn't have anything in terms of acting.
Do you like Pardes?
I haven't seen the film. I was in Ladakh when it was released and haven't had a chance to see it yet.
One gets the impression that as an actor you prefer films like Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Yes Boss. Is it true that you do films like Pardes and Koyla only because they are the ones that really give you fame and are commercially viable?
Baazigar, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, DDLJ and Yes Boss were not commercially viable but I did them. And they gave me name and fame. Karan Arjun was commercially viable but it didn't give me much name and fame. (Laughs) Yes, the film was fine!
Why do you say that?
Because there was not much to do. That was the prevailing curse of the film. I did not like the role of Arjun. Also, the film was too long and dealt with so many things at once that there was not enough time to create characters like Veeru or Jai, like in Sholay where one of the characters was strong and quiet and the other was fun-loving. I knew that the fun-loving part would end with 'Jaati hoon main'. The film was bigger than the characters. Very rarely do you come across a great film where the characters are also great. In fact, I kept saying to Rakeshji, 'Why am I doing this film? Anyone could have done it.' That is why I believed it would still be big enough to be successful. So Karan Arjun neither helped me grow nor was it a learning experience. With Koyla, I learned to keep quiet and lift weights.
People found the film extremely vulgar. What do you think went wrong?
I don't know why it failed. I didn't think it was vulgar. I was not vulgar in the film, though again I had a small role in the film in terms of length. Sometimes people don't see the fun, just the vulgarity. I also crack dirty jokes; you could call me either vulgar or naughty. I found Koyla naughty. I think Amrish Puri's character is very silly, but still cute. But I don't think that's the reason for the film's failure. Koyla didn't work overall for reasons unknown to me and Rakesh Roshan. Yet it made its money back. It was too big a film to lose money.
You like playing roles that involve wearing costumes...
No, no, no... Not really. That's to lighten the mood. In Duplicate I have seven costumes. We tried to create different looks with makeup.
You like being different?
Who doesn't? I did KHKH, DDLJ, Dil To Pagal Hai, Yes Boss... sincere love stories which will give me immortality as an actor as they are films which have been invariably successful. I know that character-wise I can do action films properly too. Like I did in Koyla. I set my whole body on fire. No actor has ever set their body on fire in a scene and run around. It adds something different to the characters I play...
Does it get you high to do your own stunts? You injured yourself twice recently.
Yes, but you could hardly call them injuries. (Smiles) No, the stunts don't get me high. But why shouldn't I do them?
Is it worth taking such reckless risks?
Of course, I will show my child Koyla and tell him that the house he lives in and the car he drives in are all there because I set myself on fire. (Pauses to think) I met a guy, Hyder Ali, an actor. He played a lion tamer in the TV serial Circus. While he was shooting, he was supposed to enter a cage full of lions. No actor would have done that. (Raj Kapoor had done it with tied tigers) When Hyder saw the lions on the leashes, he said that he wanted to unleash them. When everyone asked him why he was taking such a big risk, he said, "When my daughter sees this tomorrow, she will be very impressed to see her father with the lions. I want her to be proud of me. She should not be wrongly impressed." This is foolhardy, rash and stupid, but still I think it is wonderful.
How does Gauri react to your risky stunts?
I get injured more at home than while doing my stunts! (Laughs) The whole point of taking risks and getting injured during stunts is lost as it is never appreciated. I know Gauri will beat me up!
Critics have always called you a bad actor and you have accepted it too. Why are you forgiving? Is it a defence mechanism or is it very difficult to look at the criticism objectively?
(Lights cigarette) It has been the most successful form of acting, so why shouldn't I support it? I believe in it completely and if I didn't, I wouldn't follow it. I call on every actor in the country to do half of what I do. I am not arrogant or pompous. I cannot underact. Have you seen Pardes? I found it boring. I will underact when I have used up all the energy and madness. If living by norms means underacting, I would never do it. There is no ABC of acting, there is no so-called overacting. Ninety-nine per cent of people tell me I acted very well in Yes Boss and one per cent tell me they liked me better in Pardes. I like myself in Yes Boss. Well, the one percent cannot convince me that I am better in Pardes and I cannot convince them that I am better in Yes Boss. Different people have different perceptions. When I did Ram Jaane, it was for smart kids and nobody else. Surely, I would act differently for a Mani Kaul film. And if you don't like my acting style, don't watch my films! (Smiles)
Are you stuck in uncertainty?
Yes, we all feel uncertain all the time. You too must be uncertain about your items.
If you're in a studio with a bunch of costars and journalists stop by to see you, would you be insecure?
It's their loss if they don't get to meet me (Smiles). Anyone who sees me and leaves without meeting me is having a bad day. Why should I be insecure? If you meet me, I'll make you laugh, entertain you and make sure you have a nice day. But that's never happened that people don't want to meet me. It'll happen when I'm completely down, completely wasted, until I make a comeback.
Vengeful back?
No, not vengeful... (Grins) People love you when you're down and hate you when you're up.
You were recently interviewed on the BBC. It was your most honest interview...
I'm so shocked. I've also been told that it's my most honest interview. I didn't see it. Have I put my foot in it again? (Laughs)
Are you always so honest in all your interviews?
I am honest, but whatever I say, the media conveys it in the wrong way. They highlight a single quote, which wears me out. I come across as a loudmouth. When I appear on TV, I can express what I feel. Whereas in the print media, they can never show how I speak, what my expression was while I was talking to you. And the interesting parts are always deleted. I do not deny any of my statements. I do not care at all. If you, as the author, cannot present my interview well, it will reflect on you.
Do you mind if people talk badly about you?
It's important that they don't reject me. There was a time when I wanted everyone to love me. I don't mind if they bitch about me behind my back. Even I do that! That's human nature (Smiles)
How much of your interviews reflect the actor and how much the real person?
I have always been like that. I am going to let you in on a secret that I have never shared with anyone. There are two ways of being private - one is the Greta Garbo way, which creates further curiosity. The other is to pretend to be very open and give a totally false version of who you are. Nobody is curious about my private life because they think I am very open. But the truth is that there is a part of my private life that can never be found out. And I have not hidden it under any cloak like the enigmatic Rekha or Greta Garbo. I really don't want anyone to know what I am really like.
Why?
Nobody likes everyone knowing what they are really like. And I have hidden the real me under this cloak of a funny, open, talkative character. I think that this is the best way to be private.
Lastly, do you play at friends' houses too?
No, I have always been like that. I am always entertaining people. If you ask me if I am an entertainer because I am an actor, I would say I am an actor because I have always been an entertainer. I am not saying that my company is the most fun. I am not always the centre of a party unless I know everyone. If ten people who know me go out with me, they will have a great time with me because I will joke, have fun, make them laugh and entertain them well. I remember my father used to call me Brahmachari (bachelor). My father's younger brother was completely mad. While the rest of the family was outside fighting for freedom, he was dancing, organising nautankis (dancers) and staging shows and street theatre. He would suddenly dress up as a lady in a sari and have dinner. So when I was little, my father used to call me by his name and say, "You are like my brother, a nautanki." My father would come home and turn on the radio and say, naach (dance). So I would dance like a girl and entertain everyone. Sometimes I would read poetry. My friends would always ask me, "Isn't it difficult to make people laugh all the time?" And my answer is, "The day it becomes difficult for me to make people laugh, I will stop being an actor."