I'm very embarassed when I'm called a Superstar
Extracts:
You must be pleased with the response to your performance in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
Both Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra love me too much, they think of me while writing a film. In fact, I didn't even want to hear the script of K3G because I was sure my character must have been written with a lot of love. If it fell short in terms of a performance, then it would only have been because of me. I was also the last to see the film because both Adi and Karan are very confident about their results. I know for a fact that they make films only for themselves but they write roles only for me.
In K3G I had an author-backed role, I had to do it well. Some have told me that it's my best performance but the fact is that I did the film under very stressful conditions. But yes it feels great when I'm congratulated.
Would you say that you're are succesful, thanks to the Chopras and Karan.
Adi and Karan know me better as an actor. I believe in them and they believe in me and that's 90 per cent of the battle won. There's a comfort zone. I work equally hard as an actor with everyone else. I give every role my best shot. But yes as far as commercial success is concerned I'm a star because of them since the last few years. I'm a good actor, they made me a huge star. It's thanks to Karan, Adi, Yash Chopra, Abbas-Mustan and Rakesh Roshan that I'm called a superstar.
Are you comfortable with the tag of a superstar?
I'm very embarrassed when I'm called a superstar and I'm even embarrassed when I'm told that I'm no longer a superstar. Let me tell any actor who is a superstar or who wants to become one that it's not about getting it right at all... but getting it right consistently. And that's difficult. I've been a consistent actor-star for the last ten years and I'm proud of that. It's not about doing the right films, right songs or looking cool. The belief that you're doing the right thing is much more important. It takes an Herculean amount of effort to get up every morning for 10 years and say that I'm doing it right. It's all about keeping the balance too. When people say Shah Rukh Khan's better than X,Y,Zee, I don't believe them. Neither do I beleive anyone who says that X,Y,Zee is better than Shah Rukh Khan.
You don't believe that you're a superstar?
The other day somebody told me, "We're signing three superstars to endorse our product. One is you and the other two are Sachin Tendulkar and Kareena Kapoor." I genuinely believe Sachin and Kareena are superstars. I also genuinely believe I'm not as good as them. I wanted to be like Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) after watching his films. I've seen films of other actors, too, and inspired to become like them. But I've never seen any film of mine and said, "I want to become Shah Rukh Khan." So how can I be a superstar? For me it's all about getting it right all the time.
What exactly do you mean by "getting it right"?
I mean doing everything from the heart. I meet actors and actresses who come with an attitude that they're going to rape a scene or kill a scene. I can never kill a scene, I want to marry a scene. I enjoy acting more than any other actor in the country and it shows. I enjoy it without any ill-feeling, I enjoy it without any competition, I enjoy it without any malice towards anyone. I act for no other reason but to enjoy it. I like it when I make someone feel beautiful, sad or emote in whatever form. It's very difficult to keep on doing what people like but I work hard to do that.
How important is money for you?
Nobody can buy me as an actor. I can be bought as a commodity or as a product but never as an actor. I've never accepted a film because of money and I never will. Yes, I will do shows, dance at weddings and endorse products for money but I won't act for money. I won't make compromises as an actor. That's why when I produce films, it's not for the money. Asoka went over-budget, if we'd finished in the planned budget Rs.5 crores, then it would've been different. Still, that's okay because the final product looked beautiful and huge.
Do you suffer from bouts of insecurity?
Me? Insecure? About whom? Ha ha ha... Why should I be insecure if I've been here for 10 years? At a certain point in my career I put blinkers on. I stopped looking at what other actors are doing. If I hadn't put those blinkers on, I'd have gone wayward. I'd have started doing things which stem from insecurity, competition and selfishness.
Have you changed as a person?
I haven't changed at all. I'm one hell of a self- centered dog. I've been that way and I always will be. It's part of my acting. I'm an arrogant actor. You take away the arrogance you take away the actor. Now there are days when I wake up in the morning and want a new set of bones. As I keep on acting, there's a part of me which is being eaten away. I'm not being pseudo about this. Someone wrote that I take myself too seriously. I better take myself seriously because the industry runs on me. Yes, I take my acting very seriously. I can't take it lightly because ten years of doing the same thing can make you jaded. People tell me I look very young in K3G. It's very strange because I've never told anyone that I'm old. Just because younger heroes arrived on the scene, doesn't mean that I'm old.
Were you embarrassed when you were asked about being a bisexual on a TV talk show by Vir Sanghvi?
No, I wasn't embarrased but I did wonder why he asked me such a question. I was told I was free to cut off a question I didn't like. But I'll never do an interview where I cannot answer a question. May be Mr Vir Sanghvi just wanted to know. Maybe he'd have asked me out for a date if I'd said yes. Perhaps he had read some rubbish about Adi, Karan and me. I must be the first hero to have a casting couch for his directors. Seriously it's so ridiculous. Asking me if I'm a bisexual is as as inane as asking me--don't you fall in love with your heroines? I love my heroines but I don't fall in love with them. When I started out people said I was too energetic, then I was said to be manipulative. Then came stories about me doing substance abuse, having affairs and being a bisexual. I've been in this business too long for such loose talk to affect me.
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