Box office’s boy wonder and Bollywood’s lord of the ring

A little more conversation with Shah Rukh Khan — the box office’s boy wonder and Bollywood’s lord of the ring.

Staying on top of the game for over a decade, battling stereotypes of being the ‘sweaters in Switzerland’ hero, standing up to tall competition (literally) and trying to shake off any memories associated with a handle-bar moustache is a tough job, but Shah Rukh Khan doesn’t mind.

A diligent student-turned-master of the entertainment hero discipline, his plan has stayed the same — to save the day, the girl and the world, one movie at a time. Blessed with a beautiful boy-man appeal, a voice whose cadence has liquidity and a body language that is used unerringly to angle his performances, he has filled his roles with soul, grace and tenderness. Yes, it’s imaginable if not explicable, why the world can’t get enough of SRK.

Starship Enterprise

Contrary to his image of belonging to the ‘big league’, size does not matter for Shah Rukh. “The big production houses people speak of have created their name purely on merit and the quality of work they deliver. And with success, these filmmakers and banners will definitely have an edge over their contemporaries, thereby making more commercially viable movies,” he says.

Mr Dependable

Even though his very initials carry enough weight to take his movies from the multiplex next door to overseas markets and straight to the bank, the actor views his ‘bankability’ differently. “I don’t know if I am bankable or not,” he shrugs. “I just get up, listen to stories and scripts, choose the ones I really like and then go act them to the best of my ability. I hope with all sincerity that they entertain and are liked by the viewers. That’s it. I want to entertain, not story tell or do a film just so that it can win an award.”

Radical moves

Speaking on the ‘new wave’ of unconventional and small films, Shah Rukh dismisses them as anything but new. “Over the last few years, the media has become more bizarre, colourful and flippant. A few movie makers have become darker, intense and are trying to pursue ‘real’ films. So one is attracting the other. But this is not a new genre of cinema. Ever since I’ve been watching films, you’ve always had brooding, thinking directors making cinema that was earlier called ‘parallel’ and ‘arty’. Now it’s being called something else.”

“Why, even Mr Yash Chopra has made unconventional films like ‘Ittefaq’ which was totally ‘different’ for its times. You’ve had great directors like Satyajit Ray, Guru Duttji and Shyam Benegal who have always made films for niche audiences. Now with the advent of multiplexes, more people are watching these sort of movies and they have gained popularity. But in essence, they have always co-existed.”

So would he do such ‘small films’ then? “Oh I always do small films. They just get bigger by the time they reach the screen,” he smiles.

Year ahead

“I’m working with Karan (‘KANK’) and Farhan (‘Don’) because I love how they work and think. ‘KANK’ is a good move for Karan and is a sign of stories to come — slightly darker, honest subjects that are presented interestingly. The industry has changed, as far as stories and treatment etc go. The language of cinema is changing. Unwittingly being a part of it, I am changing too. And that’s how cinema should be: malleable. I did ‘Baazigar’ and ‘Darr’ when no one else would have. I was told not to do ‘Veer Zara’ because it was projecting me as an older man. But I did it. I’m not scared.”

The neo wonder-kids

With the likes of Shiney Ahuja and Vidya Balan being propelled into stardom almost overnight, SRK thinks that it takes just one film to change a career for almost everyone. “Even for Abhishek, who came with the Bachchan baggage, it took just one right film to shake it off and settle in place. It took one film for everybody to realise that Rani is one of the greatest actresses right now and it took one film to establish that Kajol is back — or that she had never gone away. But you have to keep maintaining that track record or you are forgotten. I am impressed by all the newcomers I see — Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja etc. I remember when I was relatively new, Mani Ratnam had offered me this great advice that I should work towards creating a niche for myself.”

Ya? And what’s that? “The whole world!”

Also Read:
• The best of Shah Rukh Khan

t_priya@dnaindia.net