'Life
is exhausting, but very good.' : Shah Rukh Khan
By Subhash K Jha, Indo Asian News Service
Shah Rukh Khan turned 40, crowning a year
in which he has got not just the Padma Shri but also popular awards
for three very diverse films - "Veer-Zaara", "Main Hoon Na" and "Swades".
To describe Shah Rukh as the single-most influential star-actor of
the post-Amitabh Bachchan era would be no exaggeration. In the last
12 years, this Khan has redefined Bollywood superstardom and also
extended the frontiers of the box office.
According to Shah Rukh, his efforts to bring social awareness should
not be restricted to short films on cancer, polio and AIDS. "I think
cinema is a very important medium of putting social messages
across," he says, pointing to his last film "Paheli" that talked
about women's emancipation but was not a "bra burning propaganda
film".
"I want the message in my film to be more fun oriented," Shah Rukh
says, recalling his early days with street theatre where ideas on
family planning or dowry were put across with a "lot of enjoyment".
Discussing his future plans, he says direction is too lonely a job.
What he'd like to make would be a huge action film that would go
over budget. "My vision is too wacky to be budgeted... right now, I
don't have a story to act in, let alone direct."
Apparently unconscious of the power that he projects exudes and
commands, Shah Rukh Khan reveals to IANS how he intends to extend
his vision as an actor and an entertainer.
How does the year feel to you?
Life is exhausting, but very good. Till recently, I thought
films and film personalities were hardly eligible for national
honours. I'm happy cinema is being taken seriously and finally being
considered an art form. Earlier, painters and dancers, and not film
actors, were considered good enough for national honours. They do a
fine job, so do we. But just because we actors get more popularity
it shouldn't preclude us from government-endorsed awards.
I hope film actors and actresses get more national awards. It feels
very nice. I'm very proud of it. I never thought I'd get a Padma
Shri. It makes me feel what I've been doing is worth something.
Insha Allah, I hope I can get higher national awards in the years to
come.
Your Padma Shri coincided with a whole truckload of popular
awards this year.
This year it felt even nicer because I got various popular
awards for different performances. I think it's more appropriate if
an actor is awarded for his entire body of work during a year rather
than just one performance. I felt good getting awards this year for
"Veer-Zaara", "Main Hoon Na" and "Swades". I think all the films
that I've done this year have contributed in equal measure to make
me what I was during the year. In fact, I thanked the directors of
all three films during every awards function. I love getting awards,
even though some people think I get too many awards and that they've
lost their relevance in my career.
"Swades" was exceptional because it's very far removed from your
other films. Did its box office failure disappoint you?
No! I always say it's not the manzil but the journey that
matters. I often don't watch my completed film. I enjoy the process
of acting in them. I push it promote it, participate in the
projection... and then I move on. Then I don't make any inquiries
about the box office performance. It isn't that I'm detached from
the end-result, because I hope for the sake of the people behind my
films that they do well. I enjoy doing all my film regardless of how
it finally performs.
As for "Swades", I told the director Ashutosh Gowariker that it
won't work commercially. The film was nobly intended... Even "Main
Hoon Na" had a noble thought (India-Pakistan amity) behind it.
There're ways and ways of putting a message across.
Did the role of the conscientious Indian in "Swades" change you
as a person?
But I think like my character in "Swades". Unfortunately I'm not
in a position to change the way our society functions. My efforts to
bring social awareness should not be restricted to short films on
cancer, polio and AIDS. I think cinema is a very important medium of
putting social messages across. My last film "Paheli" was again an
entertainer with a social message. It talked about women's
emancipation. But it wasn't a bra-burning propaganda film. I think
films like "Black" and "My Brother...Nikhil" serve a great social
purpose. But I want the message in my film to be more fun-oriented.
That's where I come from.
I started with street theatre. And we used to put across ideas on
family planning or dowry with a lot of enjoyment. I love nautanki,
folk theatre, cartoons and puppetry. These are vibrant forms of
artistic expression. I love to express myself through basic art
forms.
Well, you've flippantly referred to yourself as a 'bhand' in the
past?
I see nothing wrong with that word. The bhand performs a
beautiful art-form. Unfortunately, we tend to think of it as cheap
or derogatory. They were the first genuine actors of our country,
though I suspect Parsi theatre was older.
Would you be tempted to return to 'safe' films because "Swades"
hasn't done well?
In this matter I believe in what Mr Amitabh Bachchan does. I
don't tell filmmakers what to make with me. I didn't write "Swades".
I can't tell writers to write a film keeping in mind whether 22
people or 22 million people liked it. I just do what they ask me to.
I like to sell a dream. I like to tell stories. I'm a very good
storyteller. I can convert the most boring topic into a riveting
tale. I tell stories to my children every night. Some stories they
don't like, so I avoid them. Others they like and I repeat them with
variations. I can't keep repeating the same story the same way just
because it works once. Filmmakers also need to understand that.
Is direction around the corner?
I do have a understanding of what people enjoy and what they
don't. But direction is too lonely a job. I'd want to make a huge
action -- my "Badshah" done in the right spirit -- which will
definitely take me over budget. My vision is too wacky to be
budgeted. Let's see... Right now, I don't have a story to act in,
let alone direct.
You and Karan Johar have gone into joint production. Is this a
move towards strengthening the Johar-Khan-Chopra empire?
It's more an emotional than a professional collaboration.
Karan's dad, the late Mr Yash Johar, always wanted me to be part of
any film that he produced. He made a very generous deal with me...
that I'd be a partner in his profits and no part of his losses. It
was a gesture that I'd never forget. What sort of a one-sided deal
was this? Now that Yashji is gone I feel even closer to the Johar
family. Karan looks at me as an older brother. I'd like to be part
of his productions in any way that he wants me to be,
unquestioningly. Over the years I've accumulated a lot of friends. I
guess that's my biggest asset.
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