It's sad that Salman and I fought SRK

DNA Exclusive

Interviewing Shah Rukh Khan is always a delight. But this time, as much as the interview, the two calls he spoke on in between perhaps gave a better glimpse of the real SRK.

The first was the call he made to his assistant who lost his mother. ?I know exactly how it feels,? Khan told him emotionally, adding, ?Don't worry; she is in a better place. I am sure she will soon meet my parents.?

With a hint of tears in his eyes, he tells me, ?You know what's the worst thing happening to me? I am forgetting how my parents looked and that?s scary. For the first time, after so many years, we have put up their pictures in the living room, simply because I want to remember how they looked.? And then he says sadly, ?Imagine if you can forget how your parents looked, what is permanent in this life??

The other call was from a journalist who wanted to meet him later in the night. ?No,? he said firmly, ?I can meet you only after I put my children to bed,? yet again showing that he values his close relationships more than anything else.

?I think my biggest achievement is that my wife and kids don?t complain about me not spending enough time with them. For that I have to sacrifice a few of my social commitments, because of which many people misunderstand me, but that?s okay. I had decided early on in my life that everything is transitory except for a few people who are close to me,? he says with his trademark dimpled smile.

The release of his film, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, directed by Aditya Chopra, is just around the corner. Adi and SRK have always been a winning combination.

?When Adi narrated this story to me, I loved it. I didn?t think he wanted me for the lead role though, because he always narrated his stories to me, in spite of people thinking that we don?t get along,? he says.

He plays a double role. One of the characters, Surendra Sahni, ?is this normal man who is secure in his skin. He is an ordinary man who has an extraordinary story to tell. He is truly secure in his skin. I like such people,? he says. Someone like Shah Rukh Khan? ?Yeah, Adi said he is like me, and I said then he must be boring. My wife thinks I am very boring,? he says.

At 43, he still has two dreams ? ?One making a studio and another building a sports academy for kids. I don?t know when they will materialise as it all depends on when I will be granted the land.?

Even when the realisation of his dreams is taking time, it?s not easy for him to ask for help. ?I don?t even ask for directions,? On second thoughts, ?I sometimes do ask for help. Like for my film Billoo Barber, I wanted Deepika (Padukone), Priyanka (Chopra), Kareena (Kapoor) to help me out with a song. They all danced and when I wanted to pay them, they refused. They said they were doing it for themselves and not for me. I thought that was really sweet.?

There is something else he hates ? losing. ?I cry when I lose. I think if you hate losing bad enough, you end up winning. It?s a state of mind.?

That?s why his team Kolkata Knight Riders? loss at the Indian Premier League hit him hard. ?It was horrible. Even though I sent wonderful messages to my team-mates; I hated losing with all my heart. Winning should be a habit. But what to do - this win was not in my hands, there were too many things involved.?

What went out of his hand was also his fight with Salman Khan. He says, ?Salman and I are different people. I am glad he said it too because he knows it. He has some kind of attitude towards life and he needs people who gel with his kind of thinking. I do not but that doesn?t mean I am a bad person.

Similarly if someone doesn?t understand my sensibilities doesn?t mean he is not a good person. Hum kaafi alag log hain. The reason why I don?t talk about this is because anything we say could be misconstrued. And we don?t need any more animosity.

Salman should be known for films like Maine Pyar Kiya and the good work that he has done, and I should be known for what I have done in my career, instead of a fight.

What kind of education am I giving my children? That their father in his 40s had a fight with one of his colleagues? Then you get to hear now there are different camps. It?s really sad that we fought, but there is also this goodness that we realise we are different people.

I am more saddened that people started commenting that I spoke about a married woman (referring to Aishwarya Rai) in the party, which I didn?t.

I respect women too much to do that. I know my wife is also someone?s sister, but I chose her to be my wife and I expect the world to respect her. You will never hear me talk loosely about a woman.?

Shah Rukh Khan speaks about his dreams, disappointments and debacles in a candid
conversation with SHUBHA SHETTY-SAHA