The best just got better!
Shah Rukh trumpets again
Subhash K Jha
Six months after the Filmfare Awards, everyone was still talking about his comedic stint as host with Saif Ali Khan. Maybe because every one of their jokes was spot on!
SRK laughed, "I remember when I did that stint as a host (it was the first time I ever did it), I was not feeling well at all. I would write the dialogues before the show and discuss them with Saif. The idea behind it was to have a laugh at everyone's expense, including ourselves. No one took offence as they knew we were too polite to be serious."
What he has always taken seriously is his relationships - his unconditional assurance of main hoon na in standing by his friends. Around the time his bet on Farah Khan was due to hit the screens, Shah Rukh had been just a little nervous. But he had his own unique treatment for pre-release nerves.
"The only way to reduce fear," he reveals, "is to work hard. Once I know I've done my best, I can't find out if my best is good enough until the film is released. Yes, sometimes your best isn't good enough. Then you try to correct your mistakes and move on. I don't think the audience is ever wrong. When a film fails, it's usually because it deserves to." He leaned back and folded his arms with a serene expression.
Devdas, Chalte Chalte, Kal Ho Naa Ho and now Main Hoon Na - four triumphs in a row - the last one bigger than the rest and different too. In fact, MHN was very different from KHNH.
He was quick to reply. "That doesn't make Kal Ho Naa Ho any less of a film. I think I am the only actor who gets such questions every time I have a new release. Main Hoon Na was strictly speaking a masala film in the category of Manmohan Desai cinema. It paid tribute to the films of the 1970s. For me, masala is a specific genre. To call all commercial films masala is a mistake. I would define masala films as the kind that Mr Bachchan did with Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai - the worried mother, estranged brothers, all sorts of things. Just like those films, Main Hoon Na took us on a wild ride. It was a larger than life film. But to bring the film into the modern age, my role was politically correct."
He laughed. "You cannot be realistic in a commercial film. Because commercial films are by definition unrealistic. They sell dreams. We hope to reintroduce the genre of masala cinema through Main Hoon Na. Nearly four years ago, Farah Khan had envisioned a situation of friendship between India and Pakistan in the script, at a time when such friendship seemed far-fetched. I guess life imitates art in that sense. For a few years now, Pakistan has been portrayed as an enemy in the films. I don't see why the whole country should be condemned for the sins of a handful of people. Villains are villains, irrespective of their citizenship or religion. Let us make films with a positive outlook. However, Main Hoon Na was hardly a message."
Maybe. But there was definitely a message. Wasn't Main Hoon Na his first film with a political message?
He didn't like that. "I disagree. My own first production, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, was about the commercialisation of media. Asoka was about world peace and spiritualism. As a producer, I always made a socio-political commentary at one level or another. Just as Main Hoon Na made a statement."
As an actor, SRK seems to be stuck in a time loop. He used to play a college student, then he dropped out to pretend to be a college student in Main Hoon Na!
He didn't take offense. "I'm older, if that's what you mean. I should act my age and that's what I do. I look older and more mature than I used to. I hope I'm getting wiser too!" he laughed. "I'm still very energetic as an actor. When we started Main Hoon Na, we couldn't get anyone to play the younger brother. So I suggested that we get Sonny Deol to play the army officer and that I would play the younger brother. I think it would have worked. I would have put my whole soul into any part, young or old."
He would. And yet the fact remained that the casting of the younger brother in Main Hoon Na remained problematic for a while.
He didn't seem to think so while saying, "When Farah was choreographing Kaho Naa...Pyar Hai, she had got Hrithik to agree to play the younger brother. He even shot for a day. But I thought Farah would have to continue working on the script. Hence her film was delayed. Then Hrithik started doing Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Hrithik and I had already played brothers in K3G. If Hrithik played my brother after Kaho Na...Pyar Hai and K3G, then we would have had to modify the script. We needed someone new.
Finally, we realised that Zayed Khan was perfectly suited. To my delight, he turned out to be a very respectful boy. I like that. He was natural and very likeable. These days, you hear horror stories about the behaviour of the younger generation. Even Sohail Khan is very respectful. I think it is because of the way they have been brought up. I really like Zayed and his co-star Amrita Rao. Main Hoon Na is a great opportunity for both of them."
He sounds like a forgiving older brother.
He smiled. "I do what I do and I have the experience. As a producer of Main Hoon Na, I consider Suniel Shetty, Sushmita Sen, Satish Shah as my family now. Suniel joined our film a little later. We had first thought of Mr Kamal Haasan and Mr Nana Patekar and Naseerbhai. When Suniel was offered the role, he was more than willing. But we had to make sure that his stardom did not suffer in any way in the transition from black to white."
He continued, typically Shah Rukh, sincere, revealing. "Both Suniel and Sushmita are really nice. They have not taken any money. We will have to find a way to repay them. When the awards come at the end of the year, I hope Farah Khan and Suniel will get theirs. I am not worried about myself. I can live for the next 40 years on the awards I have already received."
Did he ever get annoyed about the shortage of suitable heroines?
He looked unimpressed. "Not really. I must tell you that from the beginning of my career, there has not been a single film of mine, except maybe Badshah, in which the heroine did not have a role as clearly defined as mine. All my films have been stories of man and woman. Moreover, I never question the identity of my leading actress. I don't think I have the right to do that. If there is ever a crisis in my career, if it ever comes, it would not be because of the leading actresses but because of the directors. I do three films a year. How many heroines would do the same?" he grinned.
His home production finally saw him acting alongside Sushmita Sen, with whom he had never worked earlier. (There were rumours of a feud which no one confirmed)
Now, of course, he was full of praise for the sensation. "I think Sushmita was wonderfully suited to the role in Main Hoon Na. She deserves so much more than she gets. Unfortunately, there is a fear, perhaps because of her strong personality, that she might overshadow her co-star. I only saw her in her debut film Dastak and after that I did shows with her. But like all 'models who become actresses', she is amazingly professional. They come to the studio laughing and entertaining. They have no complexes about what other actors do."
He added as an afterthought, "I think all actors should be cast according to their ability. For example, I can't be cast as Spiderman and Superman, as much as I'd like to!"
Speaking of heroines, was it true that he decided not to work with Aishwarya Rai?
He looked annoyed. "Why is everyone asking me this question?" He evaded, "Anyway, it is the director's job to cast an actress. And even if he or she casts someone I don't particularly like, the decision would be fine with me. Earlier, when I was asked to suggest a heroine, I would say Kajol, Madhuri or Juhi. But now they work very sparingly. I would work with any heroine as long as the atmosphere on the sets is pleasant. There was a problem with Aishwarya Rai on the sets of my film Chalte Chalte. But that is in the past. As I said, I am unbiased when I work. People always thought that I loved Farah as a choreographer. But I like Saroji (Khan) too!"
After working in Dil Aashna Hai directed by Hema Malini a few years ago, Main Hoon Na was his first film with a female director.
He agrees. "That's true. But with Farah, it didn't feel like the first time. In all the films she choreographed me in, she directed me for at least 25 minutes. The only difference was that in Main Hoon Na, she directed me for a longer duration. As a director, Farah had the courage to enter a male-dominated arena. Without taking away from what they have achieved, I would say that women directors usually make issue-based films. Here is a girl who took a subject like India-Pakistan relations and wove it into the theme of sibling bonding. She directed the film like a man. Zayed and I played the kind of roles that Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty played in the films a few years ago.
"Main Hoon Na was a very masculine film. Farah is as mainstream as Manmohan Desai, Raj Kanwar and Aditya Chopra. In the film we were supposed to make earlier, Farah wanted to cast me as a mama's boy and then show me coming out of the feminine shadow. That was a little girly in a way. Finally, we decided to do something more masculine!" he chuckled.
He looked unsure. "A few years ago, I had asked Kalpana Lajmi to cast me. But the dates didn't work out. Since she was doing a small film, she couldn't wait for my dates. Then Deepa Mehta offered me a role just a few months before 1947-Earth started. After that," he recalled, "Megna Gulzar wanted me in Filhaal. But I couldn't see myself contributing anything to the film," he concluded firmly.
Meanwhile, he is doing Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades, which is almost wrapped up. "We completed the film in 94 days. I have known Ashutosh for a long time. He is very exacting about all the visual details and knows exactly what he wants. After Lagaan, he should not be asked what he is doing next. Swades is a modern film. Yes, it is a patriotic film, but not the flag-waving kind. It addresses the duties and responsibilities of every citizen, from the young to the middle class. I think it is admirable that Ashutosh decided to make this kind of film. Yes, Swades took a stand on our lives. But I believe that the socio-political statement should never be provocative. It should not take over the entertainment. We actors are here to entertain. Who are we to convey messages? I can sell a product. But I cannot sell an ideal."
Then of course there is a film by Yash Chopra.
"This is also a modern film. Yashji is Yashji. People like Aziz Mirza and Yash Chopra can guide me instinctively. I sometimes get lost with Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowariker and Farah Khan. But never with Yashji and Aziz. I can never question their decisions. I don't have to argue with them at any point."
The actor was looking forward to, no, not another filming assignment, but his vacation.
"I'm taking a few months off starting in June. I've had the three releases this year that I normally have each year. I've met my quota. I'm now going to spend time with my kids and finish my book while I take a break."
Yes, the actor is writing a book - a kind of autobiography. "It's mostly done. Now I have to review the material I've collected and decide on a publisher. It will cover both my commercial and non-commercial work. The book doesn't focus on just one aspect of my life or career. It's basically about me and my achievements. But it's not just about my achievements. It gives me a chance to talk about things that concern me as an artist and an individual."
His closing remark: "I want to stay in Mumbai in the coming months and be with my children. Moreover, I will be signing new films from July onwards!"