SRK KAJOL CC 32 [Strictly IO] - Page 100

I know people say Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal are the most famous stars from Hyderabad, but then I like to say I am also a Hyderabadi star, you know? I am half-Hyderabadi," says Shah Rukh Khan, staking claim to his Hyderabadi legacy in his characteristic affable style that belies his superstardom. "my mother was born in Hyderabad, she's from Tolichowki. I've spent such a big part of my childhood here," he adds, to make his case stronger; in case you didn't buy his story. And that sets the tone for a free-wheeling chat, where the "half-Hyderabadi" star talks about why he doesn't take the King' in King Khan seriously, why he thinks he hasn't really arrived' yet and why he believes his kids should first achieve something on their own to become famous enough to be
photographed. Excerpts.


In Raees, you are a gangster who doesn't stop at anything to become a big man, a rich man. But what about SRK in real life? Do you think being raees " being super rich " is all that it's cracked up to be?
A lot of people think raees means rich'; as in being ameer'. but in Urdu, there are a lot of layers to this word. Ameer' is rich, but raees' ka matlab hai someone who's more giving; someone who's a dilwala. He need not have money. as long as nature is of giving, as long as he's benevolent, he is raees. And yes, I think, everybody should be raees. When it comes to being wealthy, I'd like to tell every young person " even if it sounds wrong " it is important to be well off. You should be wealthy. after all, you have a family to look after " your parents, spouse, kids. Find yourself a comfortable spot, work hard. there should be no illegal means " don't do what Raees is doing in the film; but legally, with your hard work, you must earn yourself a comfortable life, even before you start following your passion. I think you owe it to your family.


For someone like you, who's already there', and has everything he could ask for in life, what's the driving force?
There's nothing like there... I'll tell you an incident " there's this one actor, I won't name him, who told me, I want to be a big star like you 'cos I want to have a car like yours and a house like yours'... I didn't say anything to him, but then, he had put a limitation to his stardom already! if I have a car and a house, I'm done'. but I don't have such limitations. I have 14 filmfare awards. do I want more? Yes. How many more? I don't know. Do I only work for them? No. I'll be happy if they come? yes. You see, there's no end to being successful. And I'm not comparing here, but, when Sachin Tendulkar comes out to play, you want him to score 200 every time. When Virat Kohli plays, you want him to hit 200 every time. success is prolific, success has to continue... So, I am not there yet. I want to be more prolific in my work. there's so much more I can do as an actor, producer, director. And I don't think I've even done 10 per cent. Yes I have a big house and a very big car, but those were not achievements i was working for.


Achievements aside, do you have days when you want a break from it all? Do you ever get tired of being SRK and wish you could go back to being that Delhi boy again...?
If I wanted to be that Delhi boy, I would have stayed back in Delhi (laughs). I want to be a star and I'm unabashed, I'm shameless about it. I want to be known. I want the whole world to recognise me. I don't mind people running after me. Every day when I walk out of my house, there are 500 people waiting outside " I like it. I wave out to them and I'm grateful to god for the position I am in. of course, there is a lot of scrutiny all the time, but that's okay, because this is the life I chose; this is not something that has been forced upon me. I meet people who say, oh god now that I've become a star, I've to hide my face'. But all my life I have worked towards being recognised, I love being recognised. Having said that, if I don't want to be seen, I won't be seen. If I don't want the social media to know I've gone out tonight, no one will know. If I attend a party and don't want people to know about it, they won't. But when I want to be seen, I'll walk out knowing that there'll be 100 cameras outside. Someone will put something up, someone will say something nasty... Every day there are comments on me, my family, my children " bad ones, good ones. but these are just voices; they are nameless, faceless people, giving their opinions. I have an opinion about myself and my work, which is very strong, very unbiased. so, i'm not bothered by all this. i know what i do; i work very hard; i've done this for 25 years " that's half my life! So, I don't get waylaid by praise or criticism, or some picture, or even media saying something bad or good. Like, when people praise me and say I'm king Khan, i don't think I am a king; when they say I'm not good enough, i don't think i am not good enough. i'm somewhere in the middle. that truth you should know about yourself! so no, I don't want to be that delhi boy.


Talking of your family, your kids are also under scrutiny all the time. As a father, how does that feel?
I can't help it. See when I go to the airport, I'd like to wear some track pants and go catch the flight. But I can't do that! When I take a private plane, they think I am spoiled. But I take private jets because I want to travel with my kids and I need some privacy. That said, the world is now a visual medium; it's not a literary medium anymore. You don't read; you see! it's a sign of our times; it's a time when a hello' comes later and a selfie?' comes first. So, yeah, if they are being photographed, i can't say no to it. do i like it? no. I think, they should have done something by themselves to become famous enough to be photographed. But then i see a lot of youngsters doing their own videos on social media and thinking they are famous. Well, I don't mind it. hopefully, when my kids grow up and do something that makes them famous, and you interview them, you can ask them how did they feel! (smiles)


Does a film in the South figure on your endless to-do list at all?
First of all, I don't think there is anything like South cinema, or Telugu cinema or Bengali cinema... It's all Indian cinema. And a film is a film is a film " there is no demarcation. To take up anything in
Telugu, I need to learn the language first (laughs). I'd love to, if they let me in even if I don't speak the language.