‘At my age it’s difficult to do tomfoolery’

The ‘Badshah of Bollywood’ Shah Rukh Khan has a huge fan following. His opinions become talking points. And his take on intolerance recently stirred up quite a storm. In his visit to the capital for the promotion of his latest film Dilwale he shares his views about social media, independent films, his undying love for the city and more...

On social media A group is circulating messages on various social media platforms urging people to boycott Rohit Shetty-directed Dilwale to protest against Shah Rukh’s recent take on intolerance.

According to the actor, these are baseless and petty things people do to voice their opinions. “It is a small thing. People are looking for opportunities to express their views. At times, such people stand on the shoulder of public figures to say what they want to. Somebody had told me years ago that if you have name, then people will talk like this. Bahut saalon se naam hai, mashallah... now these things happen every week or month. The love I have got from people has made me realise that these things don’t have any effect — neither on us, our films, name nor work,” says Shah Rukh.

Talking about how social media has become a favourite platform for speculators, King Khan says, “Social media is a platform for people to voice their opinion. But there are a few people who are using it for the wrong cause. I have never used social media to clarify things. There is no point having an argument with those who spread rumours. You have to take social media with a pinch of salt. It is a platform to voice your opinion and have a discussion. But when you write, you have to be careful being a public figure. I can also reply back in the same manner they ask me questions. But I choose not to.”

On a director’s trademark Each one of us has a style of working that over time becomes our signature, states the 50-year-old actor and adds, “Everyone now expects a Rohit Shetty film to have power-packed action with flying cars and trucks. It has become his trademark. Similarly, a Karan Johar movie will have trollies and Yash ji, most of the times wanted a song to be shot in Switzerland. We are the ones who compartmentalise it to understand a creative person. But that’s not true. If they hold an expertise in one field, we should not belittle it by saying that they repeat things.”

One must also understand the requirement of the storyline and see if the director can incorporate his trademark style. He shares, “In this film, our family is a mafia in Bulgaria and it was accessible to have those cars and stuntmen from Bulgaria and South Africa. I am not exaggerating but if you like a car chase scene of Bond films, then why can’t we have the same for our movies I said the same thing to Rohit and asked him that when you hold an expertise in it, why don’t you make a chasing scene when we are doing a movie with big budget.”

On independent films 2014 was a year of independent films, when quizzed if he feels compelled to take up such projects. “I am being honest. If you cast me in an independent film, it will automatically become commercial,” points out the king of romance. He adds, “It won’t be released in a small way. As soon as you have a starcast, it hardly remains independent. These films are made in smaller budget and are directed for a niche audience and I don’t mean that in negative way. My film Chak De with Shimit Amin was an independent film backed by a studio but still it was a commercially successful film. This year, I was offered amazing array of films — Dilwale which is a true blue commercial, blockbuster film; Fan which is very different and Raees which again has a different flavour. I can’t go looking for a film at this age and stage. It is very difficult to balance stardom and different kind of films at the same time because the level of lines gets blurred. It would be better if we keep a system where big stars participate in the film without pricing, and instead opt for a point system like in America. I have tried to manage that but I can’t go and ask someone to make a film for me. I can only do films that are offered to me.”

On acting The actor says that he finds realistic scenes easier to deliver as compared to over-the-top-scenes. “It is difficult to do a romantic scene and make yourself believe it. But, at the same time, realistic scenes are equally difficult. I have done both and at my age it is difficult to do tomfoolery and convince people to believe in it. It’s very difficult to get convinced at this age and I feel doing larger-than-life roles takes a lot of conviction. They both are satisfying on different levels,” he shares.

Love for Delhi Shah Rukh has fond memories about the city in which he grew up and has spoken a lot about in numerous interviews. This time, he talks about how he feels when he visits the city he grew up with his co-stars. “I come here as a caretaker of other stars and not a star myself. Delhi is home to me,” he concludes.