'I don't give messages, I try to entertain people'
The truth seems to be out finally.
In Shah Rukh Khan's own words, the cold war between him and Amitabh Bachchan is largely a media creation. While the star admits that he has not met the Big B in a while, he claims the rumours get embarrassing at times.
Audio: Listen to Shah Rukh's take on the Bachchan cold war
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2007/feb/14slid1.htm
SRK also seemed upset with media coverage on 'dipping' TRPs of his television show, Kaun Banega Crorepati.
In a week-long exclusive interview with Savera R Someshwar and Saisuresh Sivaswamy, SRK spoke about Mr Bachchan and more.
What kind of people come before you in KBC?
Some 99 percent of the people who come to sit with you, they smell of nervousness. And you feel, well... actually at that point of time, all the men and women, old and young, including the teacher who was rude to me, you do feel a lot of love for them.
I mean, somewhere down the line, there was a purpose, a small purpose, perhaps not the pointed reason, I realised the reason once I started doing the show. This thought was somewhere at the back of my mind. Because I do a lot of live interaction in my shows with people all over the world, there was the thought that I should come in touch with people and perhaps, learn from them. Because, you know, being a movie star, you are far removed from reality because you are creating larger than real things every day and you do in your head feel, 'oh god I am making this film very realistic.'
But entertainment is hugely unreal and I have always felt that, you know, film work is about entertaining people and making them happy. The messages are mostly for printing and maybe now on the internet. I don't give messages; I try to entertain people.
But somewhere down the line, as you are seeing live, they have been really kind to you. You become grateful for whatever has happened to you, you realise the reason is these people, and if I can meet them, and be able to just share some part of that goodness, even if it something so material as a watch, or as physical as a massage or as little as a smile. And I start liking them all.
Why SRK gave away his watch
Do you spend time with them before or after the show?
Yes, I do. I spend about 10-15 minutes when they are chosen, and a couple of minutes just before they start. I just chat with them, you know, let them feel comfortable, and then after winning or losing I go up to them and sit with them for a while. Some of them I take into my makeup room and you know, tell them life is not about so and so, maybe give them a watch or something, sit and chat with them.
I had this young guy whose sister wrote me a message about 10-15 days back. He did very badly. I think I gave him a watch and he went off. Everybody was unhappy, like you know, he didn't reach a big level or anything. He thinks he is a cool dude, so why did you do it? I said, I just felt like it.
I got a message from his sister saying 'my brother has had the struggler's luck all his life, he has never succeeded in anything, even though he has got everything going for him -- he's a nice looking boy, educated, well-spoken, everything going for him, but he just failed. And this is the first time he is coming back after failing, but feeling like a winner. Thank you so much for giving him that opportunity in life.'
I showed that message to everyone in the production, and I said, look, you guys were getting angry I gave a watch away, because you know they feel that I should never let anyone take back more than what they deserve in terms of the game. And I am like, listen, this is a small thing, Allah has given me a lot, and if I give away something it's personal, and this one is not a gimmick. I do this and somebody's feeling nice about it. I think I have not done any show yet feeling mean to anyone. It requires a lot of patience because some people take very long to answer. There's no time limit on KBC. We edit those portions but sometimes it does get a little long, yes.
'I have not repeated my clothes in KBC'
The clothes you wear on KBC, are they a one-time wear only?
I think so, I have not repeated it yet. There're only two suits lying when I do two episodes. I don't understand suits, I find them all looking alike. I am sure if I change the shirt and wear the same suit nobody will be able to be any wiser.
But a lot of thought has gone into it, the producer of the show, she with Karan Johar, Chirag and Haresh, there's a whole gang who make sure that I look formal enough, since I am personally very informal. When I suggest something easy-going they put their foot down and say no. I need to wear narrow ties they are fashionable, suits, which make me look all right, they are very sticky about that.
How was working in KBC compared to acting, which one is more challenging?
Again, too many years in the job to find terms like challenging, exciting etc. It's like when you have been doing a job, every job is a challenge to make sure that it works, but it's not like this is it, and life-consuming somewhere down the line. I would be lying if I said that there's a technique to working now which I have sort of not perfected but I am quite comfortable with. Acting is completely different from this. This is what I do and I am. And I really enjoy it.
You know, one of the nicest things I can tell Star and Siddharth, I do this 30-day schedule where working, donning makeup, but these five days really refresh me. Because this is something I just do off the cuff, and I have a great time doing.
Though I am doing 22 days of my own shooting in Film City, which is very hectic, there are fight sequences, there are dance sequences, there's a new heroine so we need to work doubly hard, make things happen, the light is going, things go wrong, the makeup is not right we change it around, some scenes we have not done well, written well, reshoot it, redo it. But here we come and we get these five days off a month, and I walk in here at 11 O'clock and I am back home by 6.30-7 pm, and very satisfyingly having met a lot of people, made them happy and go back.
'No rivalry between Amitabh Bachchan and me'
Unavoidable but inevitable, is there a rivalry between you and Mr Bachchan?
No.
You are saying this completely media-generated, then?
I think so, absolutely. They have been trying it for a long time, and finally they have had some sort of success. So my congratulations.
But as far as I am concerned, and I am sure Mr Bachchan is concerned, we have no issues at all. I think I have said this before, we are quite educated, cultured, graceful, doing well in our lives and professions kind of people. We worked together in a huge amount of successful films, and some really nice, enjoyable work together, as recently as KANK. You know, it's very strange, it does get a little embarrassing more than anything else.
It's an old complaint, and it seems out of context now. I had seen Mr Bachchan doing an interview on Times NOW with Arnab Goswami (Editor-in-chief), who is quite ill-at-ease with actors and doesn't really know his job when it comes to actors. He quoted me having quoted a Ghalib sher, and I have never quoted a Ghalib sher. He said I had said he (Bachchan) is not hot and sexy or something, which I hadn't. They asked me in the music video do you like yourself, and I said yeah, I am hot, sexy, cool, wonderful and handsome, and there's no confusion about that. Which has got nothing to do with Mr Bachchan, but they tell the poor man he said this, but he is obviously not going to say he's right.
People keep on harping about TRPs going down, but I notice all the news channels using just my name to get their TRPs up. It's really strange. Things go down only if they are up. I see every news channel is putting this little running down including respected ones like Aaj Tak and India Today kind of groups, who you assume are different from tabloids.
You know, entertainment has become part of news, and news has become part of entertainment now. You have this ticker tape running below which keeps saying Shah Rukh says I am young! Then the same channel is saying my TRPs are going down but yours is going up because of the ticker. So respect that if nothing else, and get your facts right.
The last four days the only talk, even a call from India Today was your TRP is going down. But they were up and they will obviously go down, it's normal for things to go up and come down, but just one day's TRP you decide and. It's a little strange because it's boring to say Shah Rukh is in Madame Tussaud's, Shah Rukh's last film is a big hit, and Shah Rukh is doing KBC, making lots of money, and Shah Rukh is a big star. That's no longer news.
I understand this, though I wouldn't lie and say it doesn't affect you, it bothers you, it hurts you, but you know, you are trying to entertain people, and here comes a medium which starts pulling down things just for the few extra eyeballs.
When was the last you met the Bachchans?
(long pause)
You and Mr Bachchan? Or you and Mrs Bachchan?
We meet normally together. Abhishek I have met recently also before he went to Bikaner and all. We meet often at home, the younger ones, Abhishek and all. Mr Bachchan I must have met last, in Toronto. In Toronto, and once again we met at a party at a launch.
'I hardly spend time on the net'
You are said to spend a lot of time on the net. What do you enjoy doing the most?
No, I hardly spend time on the net. It's a misnomer. I just about check my emails. I am never at home or in areas where I can get access. I only spend time on the net when I want the kids to learn something so instead of just explaining it to them I tell them to go on the net so they learn about computers. Or Mr Computer.
Have you watched any Oscar nominated films this year?
No. I think my family saw Babel. I have not had time for the last one and a half months. I've finished a film, Chak De India, that was very hectic, in Delhi and Australia, Then I got back and got into KBC and Om Shanti Om. Today is the earliest I am getting back home in one and a half months.
Do you think being a celebrity brings added pressure like having to be a role model or people have expectations of you above and beyond the fact that you entertain them? How do you handle this kind of pressure?
Whatever pressure I have, there are pressures when you wake up in the morning to look at the papers and see who's torn you apart or praised you, there are pressures of your Friday film, which 90 per cent of the time people say it has flopped and you know it hasn't, there are pressures of people thinking yes, that you got to be of a certain stature, nature, behaviour in public, you can't really say a lot of things that you wish to, and in the end, people say oh you are being so diplomatic. But to be really honest, no amount of pressure is enough to take away from the fact that it is great to be a celebrity. if you have done it with your hard work.
Personally, I feel I've worked very hard and I've been on my own. I don't have godfathers and people who helped me out in this field. I've done it on my own. The sense of achievement is great, and whenever there is a pressure I realise that the sense of achievement is also mingled with the fact that a lot of times I have got things which are not deserving. There are things which are really fantastic that are undeserving. And I calculate them against some of the pressures of being a celebrity, which might be negative. I always find the undeserving positives to win by a large margin. So you can say now there is no pressure at all. Even if there is, I don't think of it as stressful.
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2007/feb/14slid1.htm
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