  Shah Rukh Khan More Pics |
Excerpts...
WhenEmraan Hashmi raises the issue of his not getting a flat because of hisreligion, does it make for pointing out concerns, or does it encouragefurther divisiveness?
See, because of the greater accessibility of everyone to platformsthat can make more people hear your voice, by which I largely mean themedia, we have reached a stage in our society where everybody isconcerned about putting as many planes in the air as possible, in aday, rather than being bothered about whether we can have them landback safely. The same holds true for stories – yeh kahani likh toh do,yaar. We’ll see the next day if it was okay or not. And if not, uskarejoinder toh aayega hi.
As to whether it will add to the divisive nature of things or it’sbringing an issue to the fore – unfortunately, all of us have becomepeople who just want to offer platforms for debates. None of us arebothered if it’s the right thing to do or the wrong thing. So, to me,it’s not pertinent if it’s divisive or crucial – I’m finding myselftaking more recourse on issues like this, to understand the value of a“no comment†– which is very unfortunate. Because I think I am a goodthinking mind and I should put my points forward. But because all we’retrying to do these days is fill in space on a platform for debateswithout saying, this is right, I’d rather not speak.
I don’t agree with the view that the media takes – that they’re notconcerned with what is right, they’re just providing a platform for adebate. I am therefore finding myself, unfortunately, in this last oneyear, taking myself away from discussions like this. Because theproblem is not whether it is the right issue – the problem is that weare only trying to send more planes in the air. So I won’t comment onthis because it will become a platform for what Shah Rukh said aboutfaith and religion. So God bless the platform, and God bless Emraan.
I’ve realised that I don’t need to take a side – you, the media – needto take a side. You should also give people who don’t agree with yourstand, a chance to express themselves, but you need to take a stand.And it’s not my job to take a stand – I’m just a vulgar star!
But you, for good or bad, are an extremely popular and an articulate star, too...
Nono, I’m just a capitalist, happy-go-lucky, dumb star! I’m happierplaying that role because otherwise what I say can be misused,misconstrued, unless the platforms decide to take a side. When I talkabout things like this, and then I am misconstrued, I am disturbedabout it. I say, chhodo yaar, yeh side nahin le rahe hain, and then Irealise I am in some way becoming a brand ambassador for these causesand debates. I don’t want to be a brand ambassador for this! Unless Ichoose to sell a car, I don’t need to be its brand ambassador, do I?
But even when itcomes to cinematic branding, with Chak De! India being a definitivestatement for a lot of things beyond coaching a hockey team, with MyName Is Khan clearly saying a lot in its title itself, with youstanding for a lot apart from uber glam – won’t those questions comeyour way?
Yes, they will. But then I am also the guy who pushes girls offbuildings in the movies I’ve done! In the movies, I’m just enactingwhat I’m asked to. Like I said, I’m just a dumb star. I don’t thinkit’s any more possible to be otherwise. I feel very sad that at thisage I have to take recourse to this approach – but I think for a coupleof years, we will have to do this.
In that case,won’t you just be giving a platform to others to be the definitivevoices of the industry? The press conference stars, if one may say, whopick up controversial issues and use them to pronounce judgement fromthe rooftops?
Maybe that is what the world deserves! That is the world we live in.But see, in a way, each opinion is right. And as far as I’m concerned,when I say something, and then I have to end up explaining why I saidthat – I hate justifying it later, because I think that what I say is,more or less, well thought out and is not biased or anti, or wrong.
That’s precisely the reason you need to speak out!
Yeah...that’s what I thought. But now I’ve decided that it’s okay, I just talkabout stuff that I do as an actor – yaar, meri picture aayi hai, gaanaachcha hai, dekh lo. You like the six packs, watch it. How I got thesix packs is not important. How you do stuff, and what you believe in –I think that’s not important any more at this point in my life. I thinkI should just do the work.
For people likeyou to go silent will mean that effectively, the likes of Mahesh Bhattwill remain the definitive voices of the film industry.
He’s an intelligent guy. He has a lot to say.
Yeah, he has a lot to say. Just the point.
Nono, I learn a lot from him, he’s an amazing guy. He’s a great speakerand very knowledgeable too. My problem is that maybe I find myselfgetting more and more vulnerable about these things. If you attack meabout my acting, I can defend it. But now I’m talking about issueswhich at my age I think I should be talking about – but then I think,being a movie star, I should not. I should just say, you know, I’mdoing this character, I’m playing this young bubbly thin guy!
Yeah... you can’t go wrong with that.
No,I go wrong with that as well, but only monetarily, so it doesn’t reallymatter. Emotionally, a lot of things matter to us beyond our job. Idon’t like justifying things. I may not be very knowledgeable abouteverything, but I have good sensibilities. I’m a family kind of guy, Ijust believe that I’m trying to think rightly and not trying toundermine anyone’s position with the things I say – and yet a lot ofpeople tend to see it that way. That’s when I say I don’t need to getthere. It’s too much time spent, yaar, explaining things. So I preferexplaining things which are easier – like how did you shoot for MNIK?Oh, we got up at this time, started shooting at 9 in the morning, had alunch break, etc, etc...
I don’t know all the details of what Emraan said, and I don’t wantto say anything on it, except that that’s why I didn’t try to buy anapartment – I bought a house !
You keep saying ‘at this age’. When you got the doctorate, you said you feel old. At 43, is the age bit playing up mentally?
If it were, I wouldn’t be saying it so often. Then I would say I don’tlike it. When I say it, I’m sending a message to filmmakers to not askme to dance around with girls who’re my daughter’s age and make me tellthem, ‘I love you!’ If I can do a little more than that... I think mycraft is a little better than where it was 15 years ago. I think I havemore control over what I can do today. It’d be sad if I keep making thesame sort of choice. I hope people begin to make things with me in mindwhere I’m able to show that my craft has improved, that I can do allthat I have done for 20 years, amalgamate it, take it together, andgive something new.
The spoofing on yourself in OSO reflected a comfort level with having done that, been there..?
Yes.And I want to try everything for myself as an actor now. I want to beable to say to my directors or producers or writers, would you like meto do this, because I really love doing this? Otherwise it’s never beenmuch of a choice, actually. We have the impression that when you’redoing well, the world is at your feet. It’s really not true. Theopening weekend needs to be bigger than the previous weekend each time.Gaana toh hona hi padega yaar, yeh gaana to karna padega, Shah Rukhbhai– so I’m too scared yet to move away from that. When I’m 80, I’ll stilllike to do Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jaana Sanam and when I’m 80, I’ll stillhave a six-pack.
But I truly believe that if someone believes in me and turns around andsays, you know what, I don’t want this anymore, dude, let’s do thisdifferently – I’ll go for it. Like, MNIK doesn’t have a song or a danceroutine. And one of the best filmmakers in the country who has onlymade nice, happy-go-lucky films with me is willing to take a chancewith me. That is very confidence-inspirin g. Actors are insecure. Soyou need to be told, you can pull this off. Like Adi said for Chak De –Adi, who had made Dilwale with me, saying, ‘Shah Rukh, I don’t want youto look good. This is a film about a basic looking guy. I’ve sold Rahullong enough. Let’s deconstruct him now.’
You’ve describedyourself as an emotional jester above all. Does that apply to thisgenre of films as well, or only to the feel-good melodrama variety?
Itapplies to me as an actor more than to the films that I do. I have abagful of tricks, and the tricks are mostly emotion-oriented. If you’rea child, I will try and show you magic. If you’re an intellectual, I’lltry and be boring for you. My job is to carry the bag, come to thecourt in the morning and make sure the king – my audience – is happy.You want me to be happy? No, you want me to cry? Ok, I’ll cry. You’re ajester, and if you start taking yourself more seriously than that, itbecomes difficult to do what you’re doing. If I think I’m the king, itwould be an issue. I’m not being humble, I know I’am called King Khanand all that. You want me to do something, I’ll try to do it. So ifArindam (Arindam Chaudhuri, of IIPM) feels I can host a quiz show (SRKwas in Delhi to host IIPM’s annual business and marketing quiz)... ButI’m not Siddhartha Basu who’s hosted great shows, or Amin Sayani whohas a wonderful voice, or Derek O’Brien whose knowledge is amazing, orJoy who works with me and is amazing at all this – yet, if someonefeels I can do this, I will pick up my bag of tricks and try to do whatI can.
You’ve never been afraid to be politically incorrect, have you?
I’vealways been politically correct, yaar. I’ve never said anything that’smeant to be hurtful or controversial – it’s just that it tends to beutilised that way now. But I don’t get too disturbed about it either. Imean, yeah, I’m not going to start blogging because of this, to put mypoint across, for sure! I don’t need to do that.
Taking of blogging, how tough was the post-IPL flak?
It was post and pre, both.
And it got extremely personal.
Yeah, it did. And I don’t like it, I don’t like it at all. But successhas this beauty that it eradicates all personal and impersonal attacks.So instead of saying, explaining, justifying – all I need to do issucceed at IPL. Which I will do. Unless I do that, there’s no point meexplaining anything. I am hearing so much about what I am doing – whichI am not doing. But I don’t explain. I’ll just go and win IPL – andthen all my decisions will sound right. The crux is not what people aresaying. The crux is that my team is losing. And I need to rectify that.And once I win, it’ll be like, ‘Shah Rukh theek keh raha tha’.
A house in Mumbai, a house in Dubai, a house in London, supposedly – you becoming a building magnate or what?
LikeI said, I get to know about my life and my houses from the media. Fiveyears ago, I had supposedly bought an island! No, I don’t own any housein London. I do rent apartments and perhaps when I say to someone, cometo my place there, it gives the impression that it’s my own house. I’dlove to buy a house there, though. But that’s after I win IPL, andafter MNIK is a big hit!
anshul.chaturvedi@ timesgroup. com
Bookmark this page
