Blind Item:Top star to have a baby in July! - Page 6

What do you bond over with your kids?

Suhana and I bond over books. She has become quite a reader. Most kids don't read much, so I got mine the Kindle, so they can read in their own technical way. Both my kids are very sporty and that's something we bond over too: I love sports. We play a lot of games. With Suhana, actually, I do a lot of girly things too. In a way, I am shy of girls, but I have learnt to become a part of her life over these last couple years. She talks to me a lot over the phone. [Smiles] With Aryan, we bond big-time over sports. We have the same sense of humour actually ' all three of us. Sometimes their mother doesn't find it funny' [laughs] she thinks we are retarded! I am happy to do whatever the kids want to do, even if that means lying in bed watching America's Next Top Model with Suhana. Sometimes, when all three of us are together, we watch some strange cartoons. And now mom's gone to London, so we are looking forward to watching some complete garbage.

Is it hard for you to entertain the kids, considering you cannot go out anywhere without being mobbed?

Well, in Mumbai, we do stuff indoors and mashallah, the house is nice enough ' I can entertain them a lot there. We have a floor, it is a playroom' plus we have a garden. We have treasure hunts. Then, when we travel overseas I take them to parks. We play girls vs. boys football. [Smiles] I play on the girls' team. We go to Hamleys and Trocadero in London. I go book shopping with them; I buy them sporty things like soccer uniforms. I love hanging out with the kids, so when we're on holiday, I babysit all of them: Aryan, Suhana and all my friend's children. We also make films now [smiles]. My son has learnt how to edit and my daughter loves to act, so I try to make films all the time ' we bond over that too. Hopefully our films are not better than the ones I actually make for a living!

Do you find your children imitate you in any way?

[Laughs] No. My kids are not very impressed by me. They have been brought up with very middle class, simple values. They don't carry around the attitude that their dad is a film star, he's an actor. Instead, earlier, they used to get very flustrated by the fact that people would see me on posters and refer to me by my first name. Suhana would tell her friends, 'Don't say Shah Rukh." She expected people to refer me as 'Suhana's dad," you know. Now they have overcome that. The don't imitate me in any way, expect to make fun of me. When I get angry, I have an angry voice that they imitate in jest. I have a crooked smile, and they copy that. Sometimes I think my daughter looks just like me: like Mini-Me from Austin Powers.

What personality traits do you feel they've inherited from you?

They've inherited my competitive spirit and they both like keeping awake at night! Like me, Aryan is always preparing at the last minute' being late for flights' studying hardest at the end. The truth is, both the kids spend so much time with Gauri, that they are a lot more like her. When I hear them talk, I realise they sound a lot like her too. I try to be the cool, sexy dad, but they've inherited most of their traits from mom. Gauri is a very dedicated mother ' she has her own way. She is always around, but she just lets them be.

What traits are you glad they haven't inherited from you?

I would say looks, because I don't think I am very good looking. They are both thin and fit and I like that. They eat well, but they are not into food in a big way. I also like the simplicity they have, I am surrounded by stardom ' and four bodyguards! ' and I cannot do without it now, but the kids still have that ability to travel in a scooter if they have to. I know it is going to be difficult to get them out of my shadow, but I think it is wonderful that they are not all that impressed by any of the trappings of fame ' these external things that are attached to my stardom. The fact is, I have all, this, but I am very simple at heart' just as they are.

Do they really take local transport?

Yes, they go with their friends. Sometimes, because of security, I do have to send guards along though.

Between you and Gauri, who is the stricter parent?

Gauri is. I think I am strict too, but Gauri says I am very lenient. How can I shout at them? They are half my size! They are so sweet and soft and gentle ' small hearts, small lungs, small eyes. I will wink at them and say I am angry and I have a code with them so they know not to get scared bacause I am not serious. [Smiles] I can't tell you the code because then mom will discover it.

How do the kids take to being disciplined?

They're very receptive. They agree so innocently sometimes that my heart bleeds for them. There are times when they will not do something because they know I will not like it. At other times, they will ask me to be lenient about something and I do give in. My children and I are very generous with each other.

When they were little, did you do your share of siaper duty?

I used to pull their 'nosey' and now, when I tell them that, they say, 'Yuck, how could you?!". I haven't changed too many diapers, but I used to love putting them to bed.

What are your views on pocket money?

That system hasn't started yet, but mom does tell them not to spend too much money. I believe that it is best to give them all the material things they desire and, hopefully, they'll have their fill and get over it. My kids have never asked me for money and they don't have any access to it either. Neither have they carried any money independently yet ' I guess they are too young and, mostly, we accompany them everywhere. When they do receive cash from their grandmother as a gift on Diwali or their birthdays, they save it or give it to their mother.

Do you and Gauri hope to have more children?

I would love to. I am just waiting. Like you said, I am sexy [laughs]. Now it's up to her.

Children have this amazing ability to constantly surprise you. What's the last thing that either of them did that reminded you of this fact?

I am constantly surprised by their innate ability to sense more than is visible. It's like when I am sad, they sense that' not that I am sad often; I don't have to time to get sad! Without meaning this in any derogatory sense, it is like it is with animals: your dog will have a very palpable awareness of some disturbance, even if there is no obvious indication. Suhana will distract me with something light-hearted. Aryan hugs. They are both very instinctive. I feel they can see my soul. People say children are very close to God and I really find that to be true.

Do you have a personal rule about how much feel the children should or should not be seen in the media?

I don't, but they tend to shy away from being in the public eye themselves. If they attend a premiere, they will find some place to hide when pictures are being taken. Mostly, they recede behind our security guards or wait in the car. They don't pose for photographs. Even then, their pictures appear here and there more often than they should. Aryan was photographed a lot at a recent soccer match ' he is a good player, but he doesn't want that kind of attention. I know I can't fight this and I can't avoid it. I would never make a big deal about avoiding photographers at any cost, though my wife would. I put a picture of the kids on Twitter because I was really excited about something they'd done recently and Gauri got a little angry about that. It's not like I want them to be photographed, but I know that if we take them to a public function, there's a chance they will be photographed standing next to me and I don't have a problem with that. I think it is better that they are with they parents, than sneaking in through some back door.

What has fatherhood changed about you?

I beat up less people [laughs]. Honestly, I don't think fatherhood has changed that much about me ' I have always been like this. To me, it is their mother who has exceeded expectations by being so dedicated and wonderful. I have always been particularly attached to children. Now I think I am being introduced to a younger mindset and a younger audience, so I am developing a younger attitude towards entertainment. Another thing I have learnt from my children is that you can be honest as long as you don't have any other agenda in your mind. That purity of thought is amazing. I like the fact that they can say 'no' when they want to and just be forthright and truthful.

Were you very close to both your parents? How has that relationship defined this one?

Yes, I was very close to both my parents. My father was my best friend. He died when I was only 15 and my sister and I became even closer to our mother after that. He was a Pathan and he used to call me 'yaara'. My mother was Hyderabadi. She had this very 'Hyderabadi' way of loving children. We were very, very close to them. My parents used to mix food with their hands and feed us. I don't eat food that requires mixing any more. I can't. I have lost interest in food. I don't believe in rebirth, but I have this strange, spiritual feeling that my parents have come back to me in the form of my son and daughter. I never thought that I could love anyone more than I loved my parents, but the honest truth is that I do. I felt incomplete without my parents for a long time, but now my children complete me.

Is there anything that you did with your parents as a child that you make a conscious effort to do with your kids?

[Laughs] I tell them all the boring stories that my mom used to tell me! I practice countries and their capitals with my kids, like my father used to do with me. My parents were keen on following politics and though I am not very politically inclined, I do make it a point to take the children to historically relevant places. My dad and I used to go and sit near Kamani Auditorium, where the cars go around. He didn't have too much money, so he would buy me peanuts and we used to just sit there, watch the car sand come home in a bus. [Smiles] Now that roundabout has changed, but I do it exactly the same way.

Of all the life lessons you try to teach them, what is the one thing you hope both your children will retain?

I teach them the four H's which my parents taught me. Be honest, hard working, have a sense of humour and don't harm anyone. For me, the bottom line is that I hope my children will be happy ' I want them to work hard to achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve. I truly believe that hard work plugs a lot of the emptiness in your life. Hardwork balances you. I hope my children will be known for their hard work and not for my name or their relationship with me.