'16 actresses and no love angle'
After 'don'ning many avatars, Shah Rukh Khan will be seen as a hockey coach in the upcoming film, Chak De! India. And not just any coach, but that of a team of a gaggle of girls!
Girish Rao tracked down the actor for a lowdown on the film and why he's scared of it.
Chake De India doesn't look like a typical Shah Rukh Khan film -- no songs, dance or romance...
(Smiles) Yes, it's a non-Shah Rukh khan film with 16 actresses and no love angle. But sports, as a genre in films, is also not popular.
The concept for Yash Raj is a new thing. Director Shimit Amin's last film was Ab Tak 56, which is nowhere near to what Yash Raj or I did. It's a mix of unusual things.
There were so many reasons not to do the film but I think there were the same number of reasons for doing it.
I'm scared for Chak De'
So, do you think you are in a position where you can experiment?
My wife tells me I should keep experimenting. She thinks if I fail it wouldn't affect my status or me.
But inside I am scared... I am scared of Chak De. Over the years, my audience has seen me doing the usual song and dance stuff. Suddenly, I am doing a film where I am surrounded by 16 girls and I don't even have a single song. I can't do this kind of film as I am not big actor.
Do you really mean that?
Ya, I mean I am a big star but not a big actor to keep experimenting. As you said earlier, it's a non-SRK film. I'm aware of that and it scares me. As a student, I have prepared for the exam but some last moment jitters are still there.
'I'm terrible at hockey'
After so many years, you gave taken hockey stick in your hand. What was the experience this time around?
It was very difficult and different... I couldn't play. As they say, you need to keep practicing if you want to play any sport well.
I was terribly bad at hockey though I was good at penalty corners and strokes, when I played for the film. It's a tiring game. I thought playing against girls will be easy but let me tell you, they were fast and more efficient than me.
I tore my hamstring three days before shooting got over and I felt bad because I couldn't play the game I was best at.
Is it true you did this film because of the director?
Shimit is a good friend and yes, I did this film just for him and not because it is Aditya Chopra's or Yash Raj's films.
When Adi first came to me with the idea, I refused it because he wanted to start it in three months, and at that time I was shooting for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Don. I told him I could do this film only after a year. He wasn't ready to wait and I was not in a position to accept the film.
But it took them some six to seven months to find the girls and once again, Adi came to me. This time, I had time so I accepted it.
'Girls are fans of John Abraham'
The team of girls is young and many of them must be fans of yours?
They were too young. Some of them might be fans of John Abraham. The rawness, newness and nervousness of these girls taught me a lot.
They called me 'Sir' on the sets and chatted with me about acting and sometimes, hockey. I was like a semi coach in real life for acting too.
You seem to be on a friend-making spree in the film industry. Do you think rivalry within Bollywood is a thing of the past?
Competition is there but now it is completely positive and healthy. Before, stars used to think and say Uski film nahi chalni chahiye, taki meri film accha kare. But now, it's like, Uski acchi chale toh meri aur bhi acchi chale.
It's not that we are Langotiya yaars but we do share our notes with each other. If I get off early, I call Salman and we meet at my place or his.
Hrithik told me the story of Krrish 2 and he knows the subject of my Om Shanti Om. We do talk about directors and recommend cinematographers or even scripts to each other.
Where there is creativity there is bound to be competition. Aamir calls me up after watching my film (mimics Aamir) and says, 'Shah Rukh, I want to talk to you. You shouldn't have done this film.' I think it's much more matured nowadays.
'No cold war with Bachchans'
What's your take on the alleged cold war with Amitabh Bachchan?
Abhishek was with me till 4 am last night. We don't have anything between us. But the media is not ready to buy that story. Personally, this kind of stuff has helped me a lot. In jagdon ki wajah se mein kai logon ke karib ho gaya hun. Kahin woh is khabar ko sahi na maan le isi liye mein unse close hota gaya.
Finally, a lot of them are my good friends.
What is happening at the home production front?
Om Shanti Om is releasing during Diwali. After that, we will produce two or three films every year. Right now, my company is in the hand-to-mouth state. We need to earn more.
There were reports about me preparing to buy a studio in Mumbai. That's untrue. I just got a 8,000-9,000 square feet place on lease at Andheri. Real estate prices in Mumbai are sky high and it's not possible for me to buy such a big office.
We have 60-70 visual experts and we need to increase this number to 150. We have done special effects for films like Main Hoon Na, Don, Honymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Om Shanti Om.
What next?
I'm on vacation for four months. After that, I will start Raju Hirani's film followed by Shankar's. I'm also doing one film with Karan Johar and another one for Yash Raj.
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