Bollywood's Badshah speaks

Having just celebrated his 52nd birthday, the ever-young King Khan speaks about his stint in Bollywood, things he picks up from kids, and loving birthday gifts.

He may have turned 52 this year, but even after 25 years in the world of glitz and glamour, Shah Rukh Khan still cares for his fans and the media. As he brought in yet another year of being the Badshah of Bollywood, he sat down to chat with the press — a ritual he’s followed for years now. Excerpts:

Birthday bumps
“I’ve been fond of gifts from my childhood days. Back then, I would only celebrate with my family members. Now I make it a point to celebrate with my family a day in advance. It’s just about being together. However, being a public figure, I have to celebrate my birthday with my fans and the media. The media is like my family; we pursue the same profession. This exchange of love from my fans and media personnels has a precious place in my life.”

Wishes for kids
“These days, I always wish that my children and family members possess good health, and I always pray for their well being. Back when I was still growing professionally, I would selfishly only ask the almighty for many wishes for me — work, work and more work would be the most important wish in my life. But as I have grown, I only think of my children. Not about them doing well professionally and being wealthy, but they being healthy is always important for me. Aryan called me up just yesterday and said he’d made a short film for his college assignment. I asked him to go through it again and work a little more on it; see what he could add further. As I impart lectures on international platforms, I even advice my kids to work sincerely.”

Learning from the little ones
“Today’s kids are much focused and smart enough. We start learning so many things from them as they start growing up. My youngest, AbRam, is too young now. But I’m also beginning to learn from my kids, Aryan and Suhana — things like how to say whatever you have in mind in a straightforward manner. They don’t hesitate to say what’s on their mind. If I have to say no, it usually takes me two days to say so. But today’s kids have a lot more confidence. Say, if someone tells me my hairstyle isn’t looking good, I’ll get disturbed and try to change it. But kids don’t feel bad, they’ll say ‘tujhe achcha nai laga toh kya? Mujhe pasand hai’ (So what if you don’t like it? I do).”

On stardom
When we started our career, no one would discuss stardom. I didn’t have an iota of an idea about what it was. We would only believe in working and getting work. Baazigar released one-and-a-half years after its completion. Today, even before the shoot begins, stardom gets into their (newer actors’) minds. I don’t think stardom is the result of only the hard work an actor puts in, but comes owing to other people too. We finish acting, but there are other areas of filmmaking that need to be completed. Only following this can a movie be screened in a theatre. Thus, stardom does not belong to just one person. Your staff too works with you, it’s their hard work as well.”

Positive energies
“When you live with like-minded people, you get so much of love. You often meet people in this lifetime of yours, who always speak well of you. They give you a spurt of positive energy. When one human being gets more than he deserves, he should thank the almighty. One needs to always remain grounded too. It’s a proven fact — success takes no time to creep into your mind. Your upbringing by your family counts for a lot too. I come from a middle class family and family values are important to me. I impart one important value to my children and tell them to lead a simple life always. Follow simplicity, and your life will become easier and simpler.”