India's super-achievers & what they learnt from failures

30 Dec, 2013, 0636 hrs IST, ET Bureau

Shah Rukh Khan - Actor

My Toughest Moment: It was in 2000, when my film Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, produced by Dreamz Unlimited, a production house of which I was a stakeholder, did badly. Critics were writing me off as not just a flop producer but also as a flop actor.

How I Handled It: I didn't let business and commerce come in the way of creativity. We expose ourselves to such cynicism and critical judgement every day, but have to keep calm and accept the good with the bad. These are professional hazards and we need to recognize them and wake up every morning and go to work again.

What I Learnt From It: We were ahead of the times in making that film. It was a black comedy about sting journalism and commercialization, which is much more relevant now. It also gave me an opportunity to tell my critics that hey, it's just a film, it didn't do well but the next one will be much bigger and do much better. Recently, 12 years later, we delivered the biggest hit in Indian cinema with the sales curve going through the roof.