Loneliness of a star is a scary place!
Or
The world of recognition is a difficult world!
As Jiah Khan’s death takes centre stage with Sooraj Pancholi
being remanded to police custody Shah Rukh Khan talks about the pressures of a glamorous
job, says success is intangible and requests everyone not to count in crores
Afsana Ahmed
While everyone has been busy speculating and arguing
the reasons for Jiah Khan’s suicide case, Bollywood’s big stars have kept a
distance from commenting on it. Perhaps the murk and complexities surrounding
the tragedy has played a deterrent! But Bollywood’s biggest star Shah Rukh Khan
has no such qualms. He openly spoke to us about Jiah Khan and the pressures that
come with high-profile professions. “It could be in sports as well. I feel sad
for Jiah. I have met her once socially. So I wouldn’t be able to comment on
what exactly happened. But nothing is worth ending your life. I strongly
believe, at the end of the day an extremely supporting family is what one needs.
It’s a difficult place”, he says and adds an important observation that’s
usually associated with the glamour world, “I think it’s very hurtful if you
are given recognition and taken away. Loneliness of a star is a scary place!”
While he was fortunate not to undergo any setbacks
and pressures, the superstar believes nobody can escape the stress of the job. “I
get depressed even today if my film doesn’t do well or if my cricket team
doesn’t perform well. The world of recognition is a difficult world. So far it’s been good for me. But again it
depends on person to person. What nature do you have? How thick a skin you
have? How much pain can you take? How much you can give it up and go away? How
much it hurts you not to achieve something?” he elaborates.
Having stayed put as the numero uno in Bollywood for
the last twenty two years, does he have any advice for the younger generation
on how to cope with the pressure? “There is no formula to deal with it. What
advice can you give someone who had not even started off properly? I just tell everybody, not just the youngsters, don’t count your
success in crores. We make it’s so banal by doing it. Success is an internal feeling,
its intangible. The bigger the stardom the more we get caught up with this
nitty-gritty of putting number on emotions. I have got so much in the last 22
years but still I’m dissatisfied at times”.
� ! e t � � �� e, such international
presence speaks volume for Indian cinema. Today our richness is compared, Insha’Allah
tomorrow our collections will be compared. This means we are more responsible
towards making bigger and better films so that we can have the right to be most
prolific and biggest film industry in the world. I hope all this will happen
when AbRam will grow up.
How
much does such titles mean to you?
Honestly I
don’t understand. All I know is to get into my car, come to the sets, put make
up and work and get back home after that. In between I have to keep some social
commitments. I find solace in my work. I have no idea what money I earn. Or
whether my endevours even break events.
I guess the worthiness comes from few things together like the IPL,
Kidzania, my production house, my acting career and the VFX studio. And these
are all related to what I like doing. More importantly, your success not yours
alone. I have a set of people who says ‘Chalo karte hain and we do it.
I think I am rich because I have beautiful children.
My kids don’t like anything apart from simplest things in life. In urdu ‘Raes’
is not material related, Raes is someone who has a pleasure of love and
happiness, satisfaction and I think that is most important.?
Suhana
turned fourteen yesterday! How did you celebrate it?
Yes, she is grown up. When the kids grow up they
make plans with their friends. It’s bit boring for them to be with their
parents. Earlier there used to be party at home but now they like to be of
their own. Her exams are on so we celebrated it by studying together. I like
being with her, she is sweet.
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n s � � �� or:#222222'>
Shah Rukh, Riteish and I meet very frequently. We discuss ideas all the
time about movies we can do together. So which film we end up doing remains to
be seen but we will be doing another film together that’s for sure. I really
had a wonderful time working with Shah Rukh. So if we can again share some experience
it would be wonderful. We approach films with same kind of love.
Pg 2
When the story pauses just to incorporate
entertainment I have a problem with that!
You’re an acclaimed
director, a writer, a singer and a much admired actor. Do you have aspirations
for stardom?
It’s not crucial that people should come outside your house and gather
in throngs. That doesn’t endorse your stardom. If it gives the directors and
producers the confidence to approach you, it would give you choice. I don’t
want to come to the level where you claim to be an acclaimed actor and sustain
the freedom of your work. If you want to call it a superstar, stardom or
respect for an actor, I think that aspect is crucial.
When you see fans endlessly
waiting to catch a glimpse of their idols outside our stars house do you miss
that fanfare? BOX
No not at all. People have their way of expressing love in different
ways. I don’t think that standing outside someone’s house is expressing enough
about their work. I think talking about them with respect is a great way of
showing admiration and love. So I don’t miss it. I am very happy on that level.
Whatever will come, will come. I would be thankful for it as and when it
happens but that cannot be your aim in life that there should be 100 people
always standing outside my house.
Did acting out Milkha’s role leave any
impact in your life?
It’s
too early to realise if he had made an impact in my life. Now I’m in the thick
of things with BMB’s activities taking up all our time. One day I have to sit
back and see how it has affected me. If at all things go in to my sub-conscious
mind and starts reflecting in my behaviour then I would be able to say yes so
and so films affected me.
Was the connect to this film from the
heart or some calculation went behind signing the biopic of Milkha?
I think your instinct has to tell you whether
you want to be part of this project because you also realise the kind of
commitment this film will require. It’s not a fictional piece of work, the
responsibility towards the character or the film is at a major level. I was much
moved when I heard the story and I was surprised that I didn’t know all these
have happened in his life. When we were growing up, I remember that there used
to be a question in our General Knowledge section about the `Flying Sikh. We all know about him and his achievements
but we do not know anything beyond that. So this film will unravel the trials,
tribulations, triumphs and many more layers of the legends life.
What is your take on
industry marriages?
I think people should respect other people’s privacy. That’s all I have
to say. Fans obviously want to know everything about their idols. And as
it is most of it are shared through the media. I guess the rest is dug out and
scripted. Nowadays you can get to know about your idol through social mediums
and get unadulterated things of their life. When you are going through medium,
like the media, nuances change. For instance what is said and what becomes the
headline are two different things. The context at times can change.
Are industry marriages
more fragile than the marriages which are not in the spotlight?
Human beings are human beings regardless of their profession. When
something has to happen, it just happens.
Don’t mind me asking
this but even your marriage also went through its share of downs, as reported
in the media?
I knew it was coming. I don’t know what to say. Someone was speculating
that I was leaving my wife and those people would go on and on with it.
Eventually they realised that nothing was coming out this so they are tired
now.
How did Adhuna take?
She is one of the most important people in my life. Very special to me.
She is someone who you can trust blindly. Romance is all important but before
that you have to friends and we’re very good friends.
You’re
settled as director but do you feel settled as an actor now? Pull qoute
I find myself at a place where I have the
freedom to make the choices about the work I would like to do and that
according to me is satisfying. As for being settled, I don’t know but there’s
an area in acting which I’m yet not comfortable. I still don’t know how to adapt
to a situation onscreen where I have to dance or sing looking at the camera. I
find it very difficult. It’s almost a cardinal rule in a film that you don’t
look into the camera. Camera is non-existent unless you are doing it for a
specific purpose to make a certain kind of point. When the story pauses just to
incorporate entertainment because that is what people want to see, I have a
problem with that. I think it breaks away from the narrative of the film.
After BMB, will
direction take backseat for sometime atleast?
At this point I want to see the release of Milkha Singh. I need some
breathing space. And with all honesty I must tell you that there was no break
from working, since Rock On began in January 2008. So it has been five years
plus that I haven’t got time to myself. After this, is my next film Shaadi Ke
Side Effects, which is almost complete. And this would be the end of all my commitments.
After that I want to start writing but before that I need sometime to read
and get inspired, I think it’s very important. So in short, my plan is just to
step back.
Your films are
different than the existing popular films. Do you ever get tempted to do for instance, a mass appealer like Dabangg?
When Dabangg released it cut through a lot of clutter. There was a
hero and villain in it. I loved the movie because we’re seeing something like
this after a long time. But I must tell you that such films work before it’s
discovered to be a formula film. The minute the audience feel that there is no
formula to cater to it, doesn’t work. And today the formula is showing. Will I
make a film like this, or act in it, I can’t say because don’t know that genre.
I don’t subscribe to formulaic filmmaking.
What dictates your
choice of film?
I haven’t heard of anyone saying that I must do such films because
audience love watching it. I would never go by that diktat. I would do a film
that would instinctively tell me that I should do it and I would sincerely
believe that audience would love it. Those who are doing such films they
genuinely enjoy doing it. You must enjoy your work. If you don’t enjoy your
work people won’t enjoy seeing you.
Four trend-setting
films according to Farhan.
I would like to put it as films and filmmakers. Yash Chopra was a trend
setter. He created the kind of love story which everyone started replicating.
It reflected in Adi’s (Aditya Chopra) work. But Adi himself was a trend setter.
His film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge brought the trend of NRI romances. Next
is Rajesh Khanna, he set a trend. There were phenomenal actors before him but
the way he set a bench mark with stardom I think everyone else fell for that. Next
would be my own film Dil Chahta Hai. Till date it has its contribution and in many
ways it had changed the spoken language in movies. And then Satya which set
another trend. It stripped away all the glamour and gave you a very naked
movie.
Whose works inspire
you the most?
There
are many. But Robert De Niro remains my all time favorite. I admire him a lot. In
fact, in my pursuit to be more like him, I would mimic dialogues from his
movies for my friends in college. I loved what he did to himself in The
Untouchable-shaving off his hairline, gaining all that weight for a film where
he had only a few scenes, it was truly inspirational.
And the sequel to
Zindegi Na Milegi Dobara?
We had a great time. I hope it happens soon. Don’t know much about it.
Zoya can tell you.
What’s the status of
Zoya’s film which was based on your and her story?
It’s not true that it’s based
on our lives. There is a film about siblings and we’re producing it. There are
many things universally common about siblings- love, concern, caring and
dependency- but that doesn’t need to be our story.
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