Stories Like Dilwale Give You Faith in Love Despite Separation: SRK

Though he is pain because of his injured knee, Shah Rukh still looks like a Badshah. He talks with his usual intensity on pairing up with Kajol once again in Dilwale and his readiness to do edgier roles.

How was the decision to cast Kajol and you together for the seventh time made?

We cast Kajol because we had not done any film together in the last five years (since My Name Is Khan, 2010). Also, Dilwale has romantic moments which suit our ages ... there are two time phases in the story. I told Rohit (Shetty) and we went to Kajol. She heard the script and she really liked it but she asked for a day or two to think about it.

In Dilwale, you have a dialogue that shows you remember the exact time since your estrangement from your lover (Pandrah saal, chaar mahine, dus din'). Can passion be kept alive over a long span?

In films toh, we keep it alive (laughs). In Jab Tak Hain Jaan, I was waiting for more than 10years. Films are about dreams, they give hope ... when you see a film like this where there is love even after separation, you feel that somewhere down the line you might get back with someone you have separated from. Rahene ko toh haar cheez reh sakti hain; naa rahen ko har cheez toot sakti hain.

Dilwale was announced much after Fan and Raees ... how is it releasing first?

Fan was supposed to release on August 15 but though we thought the VFX will be done in six months, it has taken a year and a quarter! And it's still going on. Dilwale was always slated to release this year and Raees was always an Eid 2016 release. We were planning to shoot a portion of Raees in Ahmedabad in December but since I have injured my knee, I will shoot it in January.

After 22 years as a star, are you now more inclined to taking calculated risks?

See, filmmaking is risky. As an actor I will always do a film which appeals to me at that point of time. Dilwale is a commercial film but that does not instantly make it a moneymaking film because we have spent so much money on it also. We have made it on a big scale so that when someone buys a ticket worth Rs 500, they should get value for money. I can never cheat an audience as a producer. They might not like the story or x, y or z but I am hoping the cinematic experience will be the biggest you can have that year.

You take chances and you hope that the story which you liked would be liked by others as well. To be very honest, I do not make calculations as an actor. I only do a film which I feel like doing. As a business, it's affordable sometimes and at times it is a calculated disaster.

After a long time you will have three releases in quick succession. Has it been physically and emotionally draining or will you continue to do more films?

It has not been emotionally draining because I am a professional actor and I enjoy acting in new projects. But now I will now try and do a film in one go. In January I will finish Raees -- 20 days of shooting are left because my injury delayed the shoot. Then I have Gauri Shinde's film and I am in talks with Imitaz Ali, Anand Rai and two more directors.

Are you bringing up AbRam differently from how Aryan and Suhaana were?

Exactly the same way, there is no difference. When my other two kids tell me Papa you are too sweet to him,' I say How do you know I wasn't sweet to you? When you were this age, I was like this with you too.' I am not a strict father.The only difference is that AbRam comes out more often with me because my other two kids were both shy. My son (Aryan) had car sickness so only once in a while would he come to my shooting. They get scared when people surround my car, and my daughter would start crying. Also, it was not so convenient those days -- there were no good vanity vans and the studios were bad -- so we would avoid.

AbRam comes out more often with me he is a friendly child and does not get scared of the crowd ... he is not shy. Maybe once he grows older and realises that I am an actor, he too may feel awkward like the other two.