It may sound like something straight out a Manmohan Desai potboiler. A middle-class Delhi boy, high on hopes and dreams turned up in Mumbai with just Rs 1,500 in his pocket and more than 20 years later, becomes King of all he surveys. He was a rank outsider; yet today it would be hard to find someone who doesn't know him. In fact, more recently, when Shah Rukh Khan stepped out at the Jamaa El Fna square in Morocco the entire city gathered around him. For someone who was kicked out from his house for not being able to cough up the rent, today he owns a string of prime properties in major cities across the world. 'Mannat', his Mumbai abode, has become a tourist hotspot. That's the magic of India's most celebrated superstar. His story is ripe for a biopic.
Jab Tak Hai Jaan was a success, potential blockbusters are in your kitty, you have won the IPL, conquered the ad world… what next?
A lot of people ask me this question — what else is there for me to achieve? So, if I say 22 crores, 11 Filmfare Awards and one National Award, does that mean after I achieve them, it's the end for me? If it ends, it means it's tangible. I've seen it all — money, fame and name; as a matter of fact I can retire now. But does it make sense? There are fools who ask Sachin Tendulkar when he will retire. No one thought it was possible to score 100 centuries; but he got them. And maybe, he'll make 500 more. Why are we limiting him after he's made 100 centuries?
I was a lower middle-class boy from Delhi when I moved to Mumbai. I had Rs 1,500 in my pocket and wanted to become big enough to earn a lakh. After I began working, I realised there's no end line. I believe that money has nothing to do with your personal success. On the face of it, I'm the biggest capitalist of all. I have all the riches. I'm the living proof of what stardom should be in material terms. But I've never sold my soul.
What do you mean when you say you've never sold your soul?
I've not done anything I didn't want to do. I've not done films for money. I'm not saying this with arrogance but I've never asked for a film. At times, I have called up a person if I liked his film but I've never asked for a film.
Is it wrong to ask for a film?
It's not about being right or wrong. When I meet young actresses, I learn a lot from them. It's amazing how they manage their careers. I've always been close to all my heroines but I've never had career discussions with them. Madhuri (Dixit), Juhi (Chawla), Kajol and I were all retarded in our own ways. I don't know whether it's for the better or worse. But I appreciate today's girls. The world has changed and they have adapted to it.
We always have this discussion whether it's okay to ask for a job. I haven't done it. But it doesn't mean it's wrong. It just means that I didn't like doing it and hence I haven't sold my soul. On the other hand, I do every ad that I'm offered. I do it for money. But there have been days when I have told my manager that I don't want to work with a certain person even if he/she is paying me loads of money.
I never work with people who don't make me happy. I don't watch others' films if they don't make me happy. I don't watch my own films if they don't make me happy. That may sound silly and arrogant but I'm like that. So, if I don't like you, I won't do your film.
Is this attitude just limited to your profession?
No. You could be my son but I won't do the film. I'll not ask my son for anything. If he feels like, he can give me. I should get it without asking. Similarly, with films. I don't think like 'this is the need of the hour'. Is it bread and butter for me?
Films were never bread and butter for me. I'm categorically honest about it. My bread and butter is dancing at weddings. I ask for my bread and butter. I remember, I was dancing at a wedding and I told the host to ask me to dance when the couple has their first baby. This is my job. I'll ask for it. I'll ask for ads. I don't look down upon anyone who asks for a job. It takes guts to ask. But movies are not a job for me. People who consider films as a job should ask for it. There's a difference between job and work. You ask for jobs while work you just do.
I work towards making my children happy. I work towards making my daughter a writer. I do it from my heart. It's not a job to look after my children. It's something spiritual for me. My mother taught me to be the giver. One day, I might fall from grace and ask for a job but till then I'll continue doing only what I like. I want to die making films. Roll, camera, action and gone. I'll be happy if that happens. My familywill also be happy if that happens. My kids will be the happiest.
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Jab Tak Hai Jaan was a success, potential blockbusters are in your kitty, you have won the IPL, conquered the ad world… what next?
A lot of people ask me this question — what else is there for me to achieve? So, if I say 22 crores, 11 Filmfare Awards and one National Award, does that mean after I achieve them, it's the end for me? If it ends, it means it's tangible. I've seen it all — money, fame and name; as a matter of fact I can retire now. But does it make sense? There are fools who ask Sachin Tendulkar when he will retire. No one thought it was possible to score 100 centuries; but he got them. And maybe, he'll make 500 more. Why are we limiting him after he's made 100 centuries?
I was a lower middle-class boy from Delhi when I moved to Mumbai. I had Rs 1,500 in my pocket and wanted to become big enough to earn a lakh. After I began working, I realised there's no end line. I believe that money has nothing to do with your personal success. On the face of it, I'm the biggest capitalist of all. I have all the riches. I'm the living proof of what stardom should be in material terms. But I've never sold my soul.
What do you mean when you say you've never sold your soul?
I've not done anything I didn't want to do. I've not done films for money. I'm not saying this with arrogance but I've never asked for a film. At times, I have called up a person if I liked his film but I've never asked for a film.
Is it wrong to ask for a film?
It's not about being right or wrong. When I meet young actresses, I learn a lot from them. It's amazing how they manage their careers. I've always been close to all my heroines but I've never had career discussions with them. Madhuri (Dixit), Juhi (Chawla), Kajol and I were all retarded in our own ways. I don't know whether it's for the better or worse. But I appreciate today's girls. The world has changed and they have adapted to it.
We always have this discussion whether it's okay to ask for a job. I haven't done it. But it doesn't mean it's wrong. It just means that I didn't like doing it and hence I haven't sold my soul. On the other hand, I do every ad that I'm offered. I do it for money. But there have been days when I have told my manager that I don't want to work with a certain person even if he/she is paying me loads of money.
I never work with people who don't make me happy. I don't watch others' films if they don't make me happy. I don't watch my own films if they don't make me happy. That may sound silly and arrogant but I'm like that. So, if I don't like you, I won't do your film.
Is this attitude just limited to your profession?
No. You could be my son but I won't do the film. I'll not ask my son for anything. If he feels like, he can give me. I should get it without asking. Similarly, with films. I don't think like 'this is the need of the hour'. Is it bread and butter for me?
Films were never bread and butter for me. I'm categorically honest about it. My bread and butter is dancing at weddings. I ask for my bread and butter. I remember, I was dancing at a wedding and I told the host to ask me to dance when the couple has their first baby. This is my job. I'll ask for it. I'll ask for ads. I don't look down upon anyone who asks for a job. It takes guts to ask. But movies are not a job for me. People who consider films as a job should ask for it. There's a difference between job and work. You ask for jobs while work you just do.
I work towards making my children happy. I work towards making my daughter a writer. I do it from my heart. It's not a job to look after my children. It's something spiritual for me. My mother taught me to be the giver. One day, I might fall from grace and ask for a job but till then I'll continue doing only what I like. I want to die making films. Roll, camera, action and gone. I'll be happy if that happens. My familywill also be happy if that happens. My kids will be the happiest.
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