By Sarita Tanwar (Mid Day), March 17, 2007 - 01:39 IST 
It's not easy to pin down Shah Rukh Khan. But because he makes such exciting copy, you want to go that extra step. He's on my mind as I head to Film City. He's also on the mind of the cab driver in front of my car, judging by the huge sticker on his cab's rear windshield that screams the actor's name in bold letters.
At the end of the marathon interview that begins in SRK's van (on the sets on Om Shanti Om) and concludes at his mansion in Bandra (close to dinnertime), I discover varied facets to the 'Demented Pathan', as he likes to call himself.
He's as normal as the friendly guy next door, but the only difference is that SRK looks 15 years younger than his actual age. He's also a proud and protective papa, ready to spring like a lion if you offend his babies.
I watch him as he instructs his driver to halt the white and black BMW at the corner of the road to pick up a helmet for his son.
I watch him as he plays with his dogs when he reaches home, looking lost because Gauri and the kids are out for the evening.
And then I see him as the undisputable people's superstar when he steps out on the bungalow's terrace to wave out to numerous fans standing outside.
The best part about SRK is that he has no boundaries.
'Ask me anything, and I will answer', is his motto. In the end, as I drive back home, I realise that when he is charming you for three hours — be it on the big screen or in person — he is at his very best right till the last byte.
KBC is rocking and you look pleased. You were asked to host the show earlier too, so what made you say yes this time?
I didn't refuse KBC the first time around; Star just asked me if I'd be interested in doing it. At that point, they were not sure if they wanted to continue with KBC or do another programme. KBC was just one of the shows we discussed.
Zee offered me more money, but even they couldn't come up with a suitable formatSo you were always open to television?
Only if time permitted. That year, I was very busy. We had discussions for ten days about different shows, and zeroed in on one other show we'd do in case I could not do KBC, which I would do only if Mr Bachchan was not.
At that point, I was also talking to Zee for a show with them. Zee offered me more money, but even they couldn't come up with a suitable format.
I am also very particular about where I sleep, and who I sleep with! Would you be open to reality shows, which are all the rage these days?
Never. I am much too shy for that. I am very guarded about my personal life, even though that may not come across. I would never be able to do a show like Bigg Boss.
I am uncomfortable around too many people. I am a little anti-social sometimes. I am also very particular about where I sleep, and who I sleep with! My bathroom should also be in a certain way. I am peculiar like that. You spend a lot of time in the bathroom, don't you?
That the family joke! I like to spend a lot of time in the bathroom because I don't like taking calls when I am at home. I hardly even answer anybody's phone, be it on the landline or the mobile, unless it is imperative. That's been a rule for years now.
It would be unfair to my family if I spent time at home talking on the phone. As you know, I can keep talking since I have a lot of people to talk to! Now, I've made a sort of office in my house that I walk across to when I have to and feel, 'okay, I am not in the house'.
You've said before that your mother passed away because she worked too hard. Does that ever play on your workaholic mind?
My mother passed away because she was working against the world. I am working with the world. I work hard, but the results pay me ten times more than I deserve.
She didn't get even one-tenth of that for everything she did, that's why she passed away. She got tired. I don't get tired because my films do well, I get paid well and work is great.
I've got every kind of recognition that God could perhaps give me. It's never been at the expense of something else. It's a dream run. The world has been kind to me, so I won't die of over work.
How would you rate yourself as a host?
It's not up to me to rate myself. The only change I see is that I get to interact with a lot of people that I otherwise wouldn't get to meet. It has made me realise that magnanimity is not enough.
At the stage in which I am right now, I can be doing a lot more. And not by just giving away watches. These are material things and I do it so that certain contestants don't get disappointed. Like with my kids — when we are playing and they lose, I still give them toffees.
The prize is the same. The whole idea is that if you guys do this, I'll take you to Baskin Robbins. And if you lose, I'll still take you to have ice cream.
I told a 20 yr-old boy to choose a watch from my collection. I do this often with youngsters. Some contestants would rather have your watches than the prize money.
I gave away two watches even after we finished shooting that particular episode.
I felt that those people deserved it. One was a 20-year-old boy. I took him out and told him to choose a watch from my collection. I do this often with youngsters. I feel their loss.
I feel touched sometimes when someone loses. And no, it's not a publicity plug for the watch company (Tag Heuer). These are my personal watches so I give away whatever I am wearing at that time. I don't like to give away my watch when people ask for it, though. If I feel like giving it to you, I will. To be very honest, sometimes I don't feel the contestant's loss at all. I am not being mean, but I cannot play the game as if it's charity. It's a game at the end of the day.
Amitabh Bachchan says you are fine as a host.
It doesn't matter. People keep harping about my performance, but I think I am just fine. Like you asked me earlier how I would rate myself as a host, I'd say I'm fine. I'll tell you very selfishly that people's opinions don't matter. I'm not being pompous, I am saying this with a lot of humility. As much as I may seem a public figure, I am very clear: only people who matter, matter.
With Bachchan, can you honestly say that there's nothing wrong between the two of you? You can't sense something amiss?
If sensing is through what is written in print, then you can declare this a war. But I don't believe everything I read because I know that when I say certain things, they will sound different when written about.
You can write 'Amitabh's opinion does not matter' and it will come off sounding rude, even though I don't mean it that way.
I see a million more things that are wrong with me than what other people see. So even before anyone tells me, I knowAre you averse to criticism?
I'm not. But I realise when things are not good and make changes. I don't like myself on screen or anywhere else. I see a million more things that are wrong with me than what other people see. So even before anyone tells me, I know.
I get embarrassed when someone tells me good things; the bad things I already know. I am very, very confident about the work I am doing, but I am not confident about the result.
I may look like someone who doesn't take criticism well, someone who doesn't listen to anyone's opinions, but if someone mentions something... like my make-up man Subhash says, 'Dada, aap massage mat do' (referring to the massage he has given certain KBC contestants).
There is an Indian mentality where if you are a big star, how can you give a massage? So I do pay attention to what people say, but I'm already aware of most of the negative opinions I'm going to get. I'm like, 'Tell me something I don't know.'
There is an Indian mentality where if you are a big star, how can you give a massage? Amitabh has said that Guru made more money than Don and KANK.
I know Don has made a lot of money. I honestly don't know how much money Guru made. I would not know about Guru's collections.
Do Amitabh's comments bother you?
No. I haven't read what he said, I saw it on TV. I am not the producer of either KANK or Don. I don't know what any film's collections are. I've never followed collections.
If it's a hit film, it's a hit film. I'm not bothered with paanch kiska jyaada tha, das kiska jyaada tha. I can't compare my films to others. And if Mr Bachchan says that and if that is an achievement, that is also a good thing.
But why compare only your films to Guru?
I take these things as 'my films as an actor'. But it's possible that Mr Bachchan is referring to a Karan Johar film or a Farhan Akhtar film compared to a Mani Ratnam film. If that's not the case and if he's just referring to me, then I'll think of myself as a standard for stardom. A lot of people say I am the Badshah of Bollywood, so it's okay if someone else's film has done better than my film.
That makes Krissh and Munnabhai better than my films. And Guru too, which is okay (laughs). I mean I'll try and do better than them next time!
So you don't get caught in the 'mine is bigger' game?
I've been told that Krissh and Munnabhai were the biggest hits in terms of money. So be it. I think Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Don also did good business, though they were not the biggest hits.
Karan wanted to put an ad for KANK, but I said no. I told him to put the
zeroes and say that the figures are still being counted. It's smarter. I don't like quoting figures.
It's like you asking me about my salary. I won't tell you that, so how can I tell you the salary of my film? That's stupid.
Your character in KANK was not appreciated.
I knew that it would not be appreciated. I told Karan this right in the beginning, but he didn't think the reactions would be as strong as they turned out to be. It was as strong as I'd expected it to be. But I work with directors I like.
I don't do films because I really like the script and stuff like that. So if you make a choice like, that you've got to have full faith in whatever the director chooses to make. I have full faith in Karan.
I felt KANK was very good. No disappointments there. You didn't win any awards this year.
That doesn't bother me. But I personally felt I did very well in KANK. I liked what I did in it. I've got five extra awards in my career. I think people confuse great roles for great acting, so I've gotten some awards for great characters.
In KANK, I think the role lost out to the character, which is okay. But I felt KANK was very good. No disappointments there.
Were you prepared for comparisons with the original Don?
I speak for Farhan (Akhtar) and everyone when I say that we loved their Don more than our Don, which is why we made it. We like our version and what we did with it, but Farhan and I love the old Don more. We've grown up on it.
You said somewhere that you started believing you are a superstar only five years ago. Why so?
It was purely from a commercial point of view. I suddenly realised that films with very high stakes were being made with me.
A lot of money started riding on me. Most of my films sell well, most of them do well. When you sit with the distributors, you start finding out cold, hard facts. They are very mean about actors.
If you tell them that you want to cast a particular actor, they will tell you, "Chhod na yaar, woh nahin chalta hai." If you tell them that he is a very good actor, they will tell you, "Solo nahin bikega, sir…" They are the buyers.
Whoever they feel is the safest bet is a star. So five years ago, business-wise, I started understanding these things from distributors, producers and my production house.
There is a certain safety that I offer distributors universally, even though people say that I am just an overseas star.
If you tell them that you want to cast a particular actor, they will tell you, "Chhod na yaar, woh nahin chalta hai." How do you cope with competition?
In these 17-18 years that I have been in the industry, not once have I had a negative thought about anyone. I am not wishing your film well, but I am not wishing it does badly either.
I wish your film to be the greatest, and mine a little better. So I think of it very positively. Just the other day someone asked me, 'How come you look so young?' I genuinely believe it's because I never think negatively. People think I have a clique, that we sit down together and bitch about people. It is never done to bring someone down. I would never do that. I've never had an iota of ill will towards anyone, which is why people come on KBC when I call them. I do a film shoot and they all come.
I have a huge amount of goodwill because I have never taken advantage of people. Strangely, I don't watch anybody else's films. I get confused when it's not good and it does well. I get confused if it doesn't do well and is good. I only end up seeing my films once at the trial. Then I don't even see my films.
I only end up seeing my films once at the trial. Then I don't even see my films. Your dig at Amar Singh at an recent award function created quite a furore.
It's silly. I have been hosting that show for many years with Saif (Ali Khan), and we've always made fun of people, including Hrithik (Roshan), Sanjay Dutt, Yash Chopra, Aamir Khan, Binod Pradhan and even myself. I am very clear about this: there is genuinely no malice in what I say.
I mostly pick on my friends, who understand my sense of humour. My whole idea of that awards function was to go indoors and do it like the Oscars, so let's have fun. I am no Billy Crystal or Ellen DeGeneres or whatever.
But I have a sense of humour, and if we can all laugh at each other, then why not? Yes, it is important to laugh privately, that's why I didn't enjoy it as much in the open. We are making fun of each other in front of a lot of other people, not just the fraternity.
If you come to an awards function, you become part of the fraternity. And if by virtue of that fact I see you at every awards function, you'd better be ready to take a joke. Amar Singh took offence.
Within the fraternity, we don't take these things personally. and I would imagine that anyone who is at an awards function is from the fraternity.
If you come to an awards function, you become part of the fraternity. And if by virtue of that fact I see you at every awards function, you'd better be ready to take a joke.
If you scare me by saying that you will harm me, I will be scared, because if I die, who will look after my kids? Amar Singh's supporters protested outside your house after your comment.
I had to cancel my shoot and rush home four hours early because my six-and-half-year old daughter (Suhana) was crying. People were screaming and shouting outside my house.
My eight-year-old son (Aryan) wasn't crying, but he was made to stay in the house just in case someone decided to throw something or scream abuses. That scares me to the extent of not having any fear at all.
If you scare me by saying that you will harm me, I will be scared, because if I die, who will look after my kids? But if you threaten my children, I will not be in self preservation mode. I can give my life for my kids. Come on, there are only women in my house. My wife wasn't there, my sister is not well and my little daughter was crying. I don't like it! I am a Pathan and I am very, very, very, very protective about my family.
You don't make my children cry. If you have a problem, talk to me. Did you think of calling Amar Singh?
No. I wouldn't. My wife will be very scared when she reads what I am about to say, but if I'd been there… if I'd reached before the cops cleared the protestors… I would have made them all cry for making my daughter cry. And that's the promise of a Pathan.
I would not have spared them. You don't make my children cry. If you have a problem, talk to me. I know where that crowd came from, but now I am being told that Amar Singh did not send them.
Twenty fans of his came from all over India to protest. It's okay. Maybe he didn't send them. I'd like to give him the benefit of doubt because I never lie, so I assume that no one else would either. But don't you scare my harmless kids.
You make a big issue and ask my wife to apologise? Balls. My wife will not apologise to anyone. Would you think twice before cracking a joke again?
Like I said, I joke with my friends. If I don't joke with you, you are not my friend. So the next time, I will see. I've been very disturbed after this incident. My daughter crying is not a joking matter.
I take it very seriously. How seriously I take it depends on when I come face-to-face with the people responsible. I wish they'd been there when I arrived, but the cops took them away as soon television channels got there.
What I said was a joke. If you can't take a joke, don't come for these events. They're meant for the fraternity. You make a big issue and ask my wife to apologise? Balls. My wife will not apologise to anyone.
Amar Singh has said he will humiliate you in public too.
Let me just say that it is not in my nature to humiliate anyone. I have never done that. I am too educated, too apolitical and too courteous. You know, in all comic acts, the guys sitting in the front row get picked on.
Come on, it's a joke and one should not try to make it more serious. There are a lot more serious issues that the association of 20 people who came to my house can look into rather than scare my daughter.
I take that very personally. And I am not even the kind of guy who expects an apology for this. It depends how I feel the next time. Just remember, I am a demented Pathan. How will you react when you come face-to-face with Amar Singh now?
I don't know. I don't think in advance. I will not joke with him, that's for sure. Amar Singh said somewhere that 'Shah Rukh makes jokes publicly and apologises privately.'
I have privately apologised to no one. I would apologise publicly if I felt I had done something wrong. The only thing I do privately is meet friends. I find that whole drama outside my house a little over-the-top, and there are a lot of stories about why it happened.
It could be because elections were on, the publicity factor, whatever,so they did it as my cost. It's okay. I am a public figure. People use me for everything. You can use me too. But don't bring people to my house knowing fully well that my kids are alone. I don't like that. I have not said anything to your kids, neither will I do that. I would only wish children well. It's in my nature to wish children well.
It could be because elections were on, the publicity factor, whatever, so they did it as my cost. You have no actor friends. Is that deliberate?
If it wasn't for my wife, I don't think I would have any friends at all. I am little bit of a recluse. I don't spend too much time with people. I like being at home. Now, all my director friends — Farah (Khan), Karan (Johar) and Farhan (Akhtar) — are acting, so you cannot say that I don't have actor friends.
Coming to your problems with the Chopras…
It's very strange — this whole thing about my problems with the Chopras. We are friends. It's embarrassing to explain.
At one time, they only worked with you. Not anymore.
That is because they are doing six films, and I can't and won't do all six of them. I've worked with several directors and the Chopras have never questioned me about it. You know, when they put up their studio, Adi came to me and said, 'I need to get the money we borrowed for the studio.
There are films that I'm starting and I don't know if they'll do well. I am just taking a shot. I know one film that will pull me through is Veer-Zaara, so I need your dates now.' I was like, 'We'll shoot whenever you want.'
I was shooting Swades then, and I shot for Veer-Zaara in between. That's the kind of relationship we have. Fortunately, Hum Tum, Veer-Zaara and Dhoom happened in the same year and all did very well.
Adi came to me and said, 'I need to get the money we borrowed for the studio.' Isn't Chak De India the project that brought you back together?
Adi wanted to make Chak De. I told him, 'I don't have time; you know my dates.' He went to other actors, but that didn't work out for whatever reasons. One night, he came over to my place at 2 am.
He said, 'Ab kab karega tu? Tu bas haan kar de.' He asked me to SMS his director and my writers, so that they'd get charged and then work on choosing the leading ladies. So I said yes and I sent the SMSes.
Then I told him, 'Don't talk to me about Chak De till August.' On August 25, Adi called me and asked, 'Can I trouble you with Chak De?' Our relationship is like that. We've never discussed business.
I don't have to tell Adi that he's made a good film, neither does Adi have to tell me that my performance in so-and-so film was good.
Today, when I do budgeting and other things for my production house (Red Chillies Entertainment) my understanding comes from Adi. He knows the business and also guides me. He yells at me, 'Mat kar yeh picture.' He's a very close friend. Any Chopra films you wanted to do?
There are certain films for which I call Adi and say, 'Main karta hoon, yaar.' Like Bunty Aur Babli; I liked the title. I've also known Shaad (Ali) for many years, so I wanted to do it. Adi said, 'No, it's not of your stature.
You need to do films of your stature. It has to be new people.' I think he meant it had to have a younger actor. I call the Chopras for roles and they tell me to go to hell. Like Dhoom:2.
I wanted to do the villain's role, which Duggu (Hrithik) did. I said I'd do it if it was 20-25 days before starting KANK. Adi said, 'No. It has get-ups and all and you'll lose patience.'
They also know that I like to work in a certain atmosphere. They know I'll get irritable with make-up and get-ups and all that jazz.
I wanted to do the villain's role, which Duggu (Hrithik) did. I said I'd do it if it was 20-25 days before starting KANK. Adi said, 'No. It has get-ups and all and you'll lose patience.' Unlike other actors, you've not signed any multi-crore deals.
You can't woo me with money. I do films because I want to do them. I've done 50 films till now and I've never done them for money. Except for one or two, when I wanted to buy a house. so I signed Baazigar and Guddu.
I will never be able to sign deals for 'x' amount of crores. I'd rather dance at a wedding and make that money.
I did Baazigar and Guddu because I wanted to buy a house Will you work till you are 60?
I would not like to work till I am 60, though my son tells me that I have to. I tell him that I will work till he becomes 18-years-old, and that I don't want to work beyond that, but he has other ideas. For me, the logic is quite simple: I'll work as long as I get work.
Do you see anyone worthy of your crown?
I'm a little confused. Am I really the guy who wears the crown? Every other day, I am told there are other people who are now wearing that crown, so I don't know.
As for who I would choose to replace me — whoever is honest, hardworking and has a sense of humour. A sense of humour is very important. If they don't have a sense of humour, they won't be where I am.
