Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, often known as an outsider in this industry had a dream run in the showbiz. Everybody wants to be in his shoes, but he reveals what it takes to be a star. King Khan, who is an inspiration to many has also completed 25 years in Bollywood, but he says he is not keen on a film being made on his life.
You have completed 25 years in this industry, how does it feel when you look back?
One thing that stands out for me in these 25 years is how fast everything happened. To me, it seems like just two to three years ago that I moved to Mumbai. I think I got stuck in time. When you see your children all grown up, the reality of time hits you. When people question how I do what I do, I feel odd. I am working with young actresses, so I am also young. And there is a strange sense that time has passed so fast. I feel it was yesterday when I started out.
Your humour is often misconstrued as arrogance, how do you react to it?
If I spend time responding to what others are saying I will not be able to do anything. If my humour is misunderstood, then it’s unfortunate for those who feel so. I am a professional actor. I get paid to do a job just like others. I must believe the lies I tell. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be an actor. Some people might think I did a particularly emotional scene thinking about my mother, but maybe I have used glycerine. While some scenes people may feel I have performed poorly, those might be the very ones I toiled for.
What an actor or public figure seems will never be understood by people and if I try to do that, I will have to spend a lifetime for it. So, you reach a point, not out of disregard for what people think, but out of self-realisation. I can’t waste time on what people assume. I like myself, and if you like my humour, then good; if you don’t like it, great! The thing I find funny is the in-depth analysis of the phenomenon that is Shah Rukh and how far they are from the truth.
Jackie Shroff recently praised you, saying you had come a long way and that you were enjoying the perks of your hard work?
Jackie Da is like an elder brother. I think each of us works very hard, and so have I. It’s nice to wear proper clothes and shoes because everyone expects me to be well dressed always, but I am good in a tee and jeans, too. I wore my cargo pants thrice, and my team is saying I can’t be seen in them again. So, for me, that’s not a perk. The fact that I can make a film, now that’s a perk. When I am marketing my films, I travel the world in a private jet, and it’s an extension of my job. I am grateful to God for these opportunities. Once you become a public figure, you are expected to deliver excellence at each go. That is when the privilege of failure is taken away from you.
After doing so many films at some point in time have you ever felt like hanging your boots?
The audience is my family, so what do I give up the family for? Work becomes a part of your life. I don’t think I would ever be able to retire from this. I will always act. I don’t know anything else. Maybe, someday, years from now you will tell me it’s enough, but I won’t understand that. I believe I can act for the rest of my life because only I know my limitations and my strengths. Many times, when people say I do the same thing over, I ask them to try to act along with me. I don’t do that out of malice, but because I honestly believe I do things differently. And I say that in all humility because I am evolving as a person. I am not the same person I was 15 years ago.
