The King Khan
(PART III)
He has few miles left to conquer and yet, that very fact could
topple a self-made Badshah with the spirit of a sportsman. He is a man in quest of new challenges for whom tomorrow must be far from the finale.
So you appreciate what you’ve got…
I’m more than appreciative… I am very humbled by it. Five years ago, I became a superstar and I became humbler. Before that, I was spoilt and bad. It was nice not to know you’d become a superstar… then you could be baddie!
There are some negative aspects to your industry, and there were reports of ill-feelings between you, Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan…
A lot of it is not real. I have no issues with anyone. I wish good things for everybody. I don’t react or relate to thoughts that are negative. I have a lot of respect for Mr Bachchan. He’s got his life, he does his thing, and I do mine. I do mine well and I hope that he does his well too. With Salman, I had an altercation but it’s over and done with. We’re grown ups and we’ve moved on.
You’ve admitted to being reclusive in the past… this seems so ironic…
I’m not anti-social, I’m unsocial – my mum used to say that. I’m very awkward around too many people. I’m very shy. I can’t go down to the local shop and buy things on my own. I can’t check in at an airline counter. I can’t order food on the airline. I always need to have my wife or my friends take me out shopping.
But you’re someone who is known to millions of people around the world…
And I’m surrounded by 200 people every moment of my day. I can interact with all of them and make them feel wanted because I like them a lot. When I’m on my own I have problems… If I’m at a party and my friends leave me all on my own, that’s scary. I don’t know what to do!
You’re in quite a vain industry. Do you care about your looks?
Not at all. I’ve never been vain. I don’t think that I’m nice looking, I find it strange when people think I’m good looking… I genuinely do! I just think they’ve gotten used to me over the years. My wife keeps telling me, ‘You need Botox because you’re getting wrinkles… or ‘You need to dye your hair!’ but I couldn’t be bothered. I still wear make-up when I’m shooting, but I hate it and only wear it because I have to.
Do you have many ambitions left to achieve now?
Maybe I need to start looking at socially relevant things a little more consciously now. I want to do things for little girls, the underprivileged, orphans – I don’t like using those terms.
However, I don’t want it to be about setting up an organisation, donating money and telling kids to study there; I want to be as involved with them as I am with my own children. I want those kids to enjoy the entertainment I can give them and make them happy. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but it will happen. There are a lot of other things that I need to do. I don’t know what just yet – but that’s the good thing about life.
His Name Is Khan
A big name in Indian press, Pritish Nandy, writes about Shah Rukh Khan.
“I clearly recall the first time I saw Shah Rukh. Maneka Gandhi and I were chatting in her old Maharani Bagh bungalow one wintry evening. Dinner was over and the coffee was cold and barely drinkable, when suddenly without any warning, a film called Deewana sprung up on the TV screen. Piracy was rampant on cable in those days and it was not unusual to see a new film on TV. But it wasn’t just the film that grabbed our attention. It was the new guy out there. MG stopped for a moment, watched Shah Rukh’s antics for a while, then turned around and said: “Just watch out for this chap! He’ll be a huge star one day.” I turned to look at the TV and saw a new, floppy haired, hyper-energetic, boyish looking hero pretty much desperate to make an impact on those watching him and said somewhat dismissively: “He’s okay, but tries too hard.” Our conversation continued.
Over the next few years, Shah Rukh’s name and popularity grew. I saw him next at the Fimfare Awards. I had in fact revived the awards after they were discontinued in 1987 for lack of sponsors. So out of sheer courtesy I guess, Pradeep Guha who now looked after Filmfare Awards kept inviting me every year to attend the event. Sometimes I went, sometimes I didn’t.
That year, if I recall, was the 1994 Filmfare Awards. Young Shah Rukh was among the five nominees for ‘Best Actor’ for Baazigar, his first pitch for the industry’s top award. Against him ranged four big stars of that time: Aamir Khan, Govinda, Jackie Shroff and Sanjay Dutt. Shah Rukh beat all odds and won. It was a huge upset.”
to be continued...
