SRK- 'I work for neither posterity nor prosperity'

SRK's Exclusive Interview with TOI

In a chat the day before his 46th birthday, Shah Rukh Khan refuses to look back, talking about the here and now - filmcraft vs collections, what keeps him going, and why jibes and sniping about him and his work are like nazarbattoos, keeping ill luck away! 

When talking about the flak KKR took in the initial IPL, you'd said that the team just needs to win for the sniping to stop - that "success has the quality that it eradicates all personal and impersonal attacks". In your case, doesn't the reverse hold true? Haan yaar, yeh kuch kamaal hi ho gaya hai mere saath... 

From a Shirish calling "Ra.One" a fizzledcracker to a Thackeray almost calling you a Pakistani loyalist, within a week - what did you do to trigger this? Both unimportant... let me say something sincerely. I hope it doesn't sound too rude. Successful people do things, and get over with it, and leave others to live their life off it. I DO them. And then I leave it to others to live their life off it. 

It is so strange - if anyone takes my name, I have the ability to make them famous. Just by taking my name. And that's God's gift. My son asked me this the other day, 6 'o' clock in the morning he called me, and asked me, Papa, people say things about you. Don't you get angry? Don't you want to beat them up? 

And I said no, your father is gifted with this. That if you want to be famous, you take your dad's name. And I said the only persons I don't want to be famous by taking my name are you and your sister. Let the rest of the world do that. And I truly mean that. I hope that comes true. I endorse so many people free (laughs)! 

But surely statements such as Thackeray's must provoke you to respond? Sometimes I don't want to dignify things with answers. And it takes a huge amount of self-restraint, patience, control, and love for your own family, to keep quiet. And dignity, and perhaps the status that I have in the eyes of the people. 

I was told by Amitji once - we were sitting backstage for a show - beta, jab stardom aati hai na, koi bhi aadmi aa kar tumko thappad mar kar chala jayega. Tum use kuch nahin keh sakte. Kyunki agar tumne kuch kaha, to tum ameer ho, gareeb pe apna dum daba rahe ho. Tumne sharab pi hui hai. Tum gundagardi kar rahe ho. Tum arrogant ho. Tum apne aap ko samjhte kya ho? He said these are the things they'll say. You have to keep quiet, put on your blinkers, keep walking. 

And that is why successful people finally become a little reclusive. It's not the reclusion of loneliness; my reclusion is the reclusion of avoiding, of ignoring, of saying, let's move on. 

Hemaji told me something like this long ago, when I was new. Somebody wrote an article which said that I'd said that Hemaji was not a good director - while I'd said nothing like that, but you know how press mein aata hai... so I was very scared and I said, ma'am, I didn't say anything like that. Hemaji told me see, this means, either I am very famous, or you are very famous. And my fame has sort of reduced now, so this means you've become famous, and now this will be part of your life. 

The other night, I met her for the launch of her film, and she asked me - you remember na everything I said? And I said, yes, I remember everything. 

So, yes, success makes people - people not related to you or to your field - like to take a dig at you. Sometimes I go to social networking sites for a while and I'm like, arre! Kaafi personal ho gaya! 

Quite vicious, the online tenor can be, on a bad day. Yes, very. But then, I'm like, this is maybe a small dusty man in a small dusty room, taking out his angst, his loneliness, by taking someone's name, abusing him, and feeling happy that his achievement has been recorded. So then I feel I'm also a source of inspiration for them, even if in a strange, negative sense. God bless them. 

There is no dearth of actors - stars, rather - who share your surname. But the "Nishan-e-Pakistan" sort of compliments are usually directed exclusively at you. Why's that? (Laughs) I know, I know what you mean. Maybe I'm too flamboyant. Maybe like my son, I don't answer back enough... 

But why are you a target of angst across the range - from the guy in the dusty room to irked political leaders? I think I invoke radical passions in people - and that is why I am such a big star! I'll walk out with you just now, and you'll have men, women, of all nationalities, just hugging me. I think it is the same intensity on the other side, in those who don't like my face. And I will choose to believe in the hugs more than the hatred. 

Just like Hyundai uses me, as a professional, a lot of people use me unprofessionally. I've become a free-for-all brand. I hope they come out with a rule that they can't use a person's name without paying him for it! 

And the most irritating part of it is one word - opinion. You ask someone, how could you say this about him? And the answer is - it's an opinion. You're a dog - that's an opinion. You're an actor - that's also an opinion. You're a Muslim - that's an opinion. Anything can be twisted into an opinion. That's not good. 

Ek "Trimurti" mein line thi - kabhi picture mein shoot hi nahin kari woh! - mujhe badi achhi lagti thi: "Jisko dekho mera baap banna chahta hai" (laughs). It's a strange thing. Jisko dekho mera baap banna chahta hai. Lekin theek hai. God bless them. So long as my children don't want to be my baap, it's ok! 

"RA.One's" revenues have been the subject of much national debate the past week.Yeah... right now, as we sit down and talk, it is supposed to be the highest grosser, as of five days. The business is different - number of theatres, screens, audience going in big numbers... so obviously the reactions are also larger, more volatile. 

The projectionists have also become part of the reactions - and they like to make projections telling you that agle din business itna achha nahin hoga. 

Everybody has become hugely associated with the tangibility of this business. It is unfortunate that it is so; a film should ideally be allowed to breathe, to reach people at its own pace. That was the old style. But if you release it in the new style, like we have, with 5,000 theatres, which is the American way of doing it - and the right way - because there are no longer Silver or Golden jubilees, there's only a weekend or two of business. In the future, all big films will release in 5,000 theatres. In an earlier interview, you said that films and filmmakers are part of a strange art form which is only measured by the yardstick of commerce. And that dichotomy is one you have to live with... You have to live with it, yes, you have to. Earlier, the business of films was not discussed on every platform. Now, if I'm getting off the plane from LA, people come up to me and say, 'Sir, congratulations, what big figures!' Earlier they would come and say nice film, good role - now they talk about earnings. The applause is mixed with the jingling of coins, you have to hear both together. 

It doesn't make me too happy. My heart doesn't crunch numbers. But my business partners are happy - mazaa aa gaya reactions. I'm like, ok... I think a film should be measured differently also. 

Is it the media's obsession with you vs Salman that got translated into the almost hourly comparison of "RA.One" vs "Dabangg"? I don't think it's just the media, honestly. I think there is a section of people related to the trade who also talk in these terms. A trade person or a producer, he'll tell you it did well, but it didn't quite do as well as that one, or better than that one on the second day, or whatever... 

I feel conversations are not viable anymore; it's just communication. And communication boils down to monosyllabic terms. Yes, no, ok, good, like, dislike, bye, 170 (crores). It is no longer ki kaisi lagi picture... Nobody converses. Reactions are like, wow, thumbs up, smiley. 

New genres, new stories are like a new shoe for a day or two. And I've been in the business long enough to know ki yeh joota theek ho jayega. Now it'll swerve to the opposite - these figures are unheard of, etc, etc. I would not like to participate in either of these discussions, Day 1, Day 2, week... the messages I get are like, '7 crores on a Monday! Super duper!' The first four days are just about communication, then it comes to conversation about a film. Appreciating a film is like opening a wine... good wine needs a little breathing before you drink it. 

On the point of commerce vs art: Wouldn't you be remembered for a role like "Chak De" even if that wouldn't be a movie that made a fraction of the money that "RA.One" is making? No, I don't think so, I don't think that's a case in point. I work for now. I don't work for two things - I don't work for posterity, and I don't work for prosperity. Some people work for prosperity. I've worked for that. But now I am prosperous, I am ok. And I don't work for posterity. Yaar main yeh kya nishaan chhod ke jaa raha hoon? Because posterity is not created by you; it's created by talk, by cinema, by life itself. If you're working for either of the two, you're on a shaky wicket. I work for NOW. I want to be untouched by this whole tangibility factor. 

I was speaking to Lady Gaga, I had this long interview with her, and she said some very nice things. I really appreciated it because when I say those things, I sound as if I am philosophizing too much. But she was saying the same thing. If finally someone were to give her a choice between giving up her money, her stardom, all that she's earned, or give up singing, she'd choose not to give up singing. If someone were to give me the choice between giving up all my cars and my money and giving up acting, I'd say, yaar, acting karte rahenge, will let those go. 

Maybe if you are as successful as I am today, you have that choice. Maybe that's not a choice one has in the first two years of one's career. But this is my reality today. I don't work for the prosperity; yes, it happens along the way, Mashallah, it's very good for the business. And I don't think about posterity. I will not think about posterity because I still haven't ended; I think my posterity will be when I sit down and start watching my own films, which I still don't do. 

Never? Never, yaar. I can't watch my own films. I've kept that for old age - ki baith ke dekhoonga, kiya kyaa. 

What is old age? Old age, for me? The way I'm going, about 140. That's what my friends say. I'm 46 now - so about a hundred to go! 

Your dad was 50-something when he passed away. You've talked about thinking more of mortality, and of him, when you approach 50. Yes, then I did. But now I don't... because I am the healthiest I ever was right now. And I am also more relaxed. In a happier space as a person. To me it's no longer about wanting to have my finger in every aspect of life, like I used to be maybe 15 years ago. 

But ya, it is strange to think that my son today is as old as I was when my father died. I do get reminded of that, ya. Not necessarily about mortality... but it's good to be reminded of that, too. Like Steve Jobs said, if you know finally you're going to die, there seems to be no risk in anything you do in life. He said this when he had cancer. I think our fear of mortality stops us from living life to the fullest. I am living my dreams - how many people get a chance to do that? 

Lady Gaga tweeted a picture with you and said 'screw Hollywood!' That must have made you happy! Yeah! Actually all the reviews of my movie in Hollywood are like that. You should read the reviews in LA Times, New York Times... a journalist said to me, 'It's like we've been saying this for 8-10 years, suddenly, seeing "RA.One", we're telling Hollywood, dude, even technically they're here now - and the cost is one-hundredth of your films.' I think it's a sign of the times, whether it's Akon or Lady Gaga, they all want to come to India. In reverse, it took an Oscar for us to recognize the genius of a Resul. 

As to Lady Gaga, she's a sweet lady, really, really upfront, honest. I spent three hours chatting with her. It was fantastic. Simple, down-to-earth middle-class girl...'Simple' and 'middle-class' are not the first words that come to mind when you speak of Lady Gaga... An image. An image that's bordering on the bizarre. And it's just an image. Amazingly intellectual. A philosopher. She is very clear. As a person, she is so deep, she knows the philosophy of the world, she ad verbatim knows the philosophers... It was a great learning experience - and I say that about very few people, more so those who are 25 years old. 

She said a great thing to me. She said, an artiste's personal life should not be discussed beyond a point, because it somehow blunts the art of the artiste. People start taking the art less seriously than the personality. She says my personality is me, my art is what you see - and they are two distinct, two clear thoughts. Seeing her on stage, you expect her to be this really wild, vivacious girl - she's actually a calm, normal person who says her most interesting pastime is cooking food for her father whenever she's in New York. Middle-class girl. She's very clear - I just want to sing. 

It was a fantastic learning experience for me, and it was also stuff that I completely believe in. Whatever I am out here is for the people - I'll dance for you, I'll do a "Chammak Challo", I'll wear a tight suit and fly if that makes you happy. But in my personal life, I'm a deeper person. So when you say silly things about me... I have to disassociate and say, these guys don't even know me personally. So the comment is unfounded. This guy doesn't even know me. I was flipping through an article and somebody had written, 'This is the most expensive mid-life crisis of a person'. Why are you talking about my mid-life crisis? What do you know about my crisis? Or where I am? Talk about the film - that's what you're paid for. Review the film. Don't review my personal life. I don't sell my personal life to you. Talk about the actor, don't talk about the person. 

When you make a personal remark about me, without knowing me, I have to take it like that - it's your own issues in life maybe, you're just putting it upon me because iske paas yeh sab kyun hai, hamare paas kyun nahin. I guess it's just that, finally. 

Are you still an outsider in the system after all these years? Well, if you look at it, I'm an outsider, which my son won't be, so maybe he'll have it easier... but it's not that. I'm told that I may be coming across as rude. I'm not really very social. 

Maybe it's because I don't bend. Maybe because even in the face of bad things, I'm smiling. It irks people sometimes. They're like, saala, akele yeh sab kaise kar leta hai? I do that because I sleep less, I work harder. Everyone finds a different reason for my success except the fact that I act. 'Yeh marketing guru hai yaar'. 'You know what, saale ki luck chal rahi hai'. 

Luck chal rahi hai, for 20 years? Haan, saala, bees saal se luck hi chal rahi hai! It's 'Arre wohi kare ja raha hai, love stories karta rehta hai'. 'Gaane nikal jaate hain iske; gaane achhe mil jaate hain saale ko'. 'You know what, Muslim audience bahut pyaar karti hai isko.' 'Overseas! Overseas ki wajah se itna chalta hai.' 

"They find strange reasons for my success. But the real reason is - early to bed, early to rise, work my a** off, and advertize. It's as simple as that. "

"I am my one man walking talking team. I can handle 5-6 things at a time. I can handle a cricket team, I can handle production, I can set up a VFX studio, I can make the most expensive film in the country. I can still come and launch a kabaddi tournament in Bhatinda and deliver a speech at Adasia which everybody loved and still go back home and celebrate my birthday with my kids." 

And I can play video games with them. And I'm not tired. And I'm everywhere. 

But your being everywhere was a point of much talk in the run-up to "RA.One" - he's on every show, everywhere... And why not? An actor once told me - I won't name him - 'I don't like dancing at weddings'. I said, and how often have you been invited to dance at weddings? The answer: 'I'll never do it'. I said, pehle chance toh mile! If I'm invited, if I'm put on people's shoulders, if I'm asked to be on, from "KBC", to whatever programme - if I'm called, I like to do it, I'm ok. This is what I'm here for. I like doing that. You do that if you're called. Just because you're not invited, don't run down my party. I'm invited to every party. And I like to attend all of them. And I enjoy myself. 

Life is beautiful. I am beautiful. And the few things around me that are not beautiful - I like to think of them as nazarbattoos - tils. Woh kehte hain na, tere chehre pe yeh jo kaala sa til hai, lagta hai daulat-e-husn pe darbaan bitha rakha hai. So yeh jo negative baatein karte hain mere baare me, yeh mere daulat-e-husn ke darbaan hain, mujhe nazar lagne se bachate hain. 

You looked tired, run-down sometimes while being everywhere... I got tired. I fell sick, actually. I got a bronchitis attack but I couldn't stop, film ke premieres they. Then I was on antibiotics. 

Superstars don't rest, do they? I sleep an average of 30-35 hours a week. Today I slept just an hour, but on the flight from LA, I slept for 16 hours straight. I guess it comes out to an average of 5 hours. I don't sleep very early anyway. I like that time at night. That's the only time I get to be with myself. No cars, no clothes, no films, nothing, just my thoughts. That's important. People think insomnia hai, but it's not that. I like that time - 2, 3am. You hear crickets, it's quiet. I like that time of the night. 

For 20 years, when so much is asked of you, and you want to give it with happiness and love, you deserve that time by yourself. I just sit quietly, I do nothing. I'll write, or surf channels, or read a really silly book. That time, I feel, gets me ready for the next day, more than the sleep.