Shahrukh talk to Rajeev Masand for CNN IBN: Live

He is one of India's biggest stars, makes more money per film than most of us do in a lifetime and his popularity is virtually unmatched. No prize for guessing, the star is of course Shah Rukh Khan.


Rajeev Masand: I have to ask you first, where has your beard gone?


Shah Rukh Khan: The beard was there because of my role in the film Chak de India. I just finished shooting for it, so it’s gone now.


Rajeev Masand: Was it bothersome. Were the kids complaining?



Shah Rukh Khan: My daughter did not like it. In fact some other girls, too, said that it pricks when I kiss them.


Rajeev Masand: Not many people know this but the Munnabhai films were conceived with you in mind. Also the first film Munnabhai MBBS was a film in which you even collaborated with some of the writing portions. In fact you have been very graciously saying that you would not have done as good a job as Sanjay Dutt did in the two films. What did you think about the second Munnabhai film that did so well recently?


Shah Rukh Khan: I haven’t seen it but my wife and kids have seen it twice and they loved it. To be honest, I wasn’t in town when the first Munnabhai came out. My family went to see the film because they knew that I was extremely keen on watching it.


Raju Hirani’s simplicity of storytelling is the most wonderful thing about the film. In fact I loved the title of the film when I heard it. Vidhu Vinod Chopra had come to me and he was extremely passionate to make the film but I had to undergo a surgery at that time.


I had to give up the film because I could not have asked them to wait for me till I recover. They were not my friends at that point of time. Now of course they are best buddies but I could not really ask them to wait for me till I recover.


I did put on hold other projects and asked Yash (Johar), Farah (Khan) and Aziz (Mirza) to wait. But I could not have asked Raju Hirani to do the same. He was embarking on his very first film and I could not hold him back for one-and-half years just because I was undergoing a surgery.


They went ahead and made it. Later on when I saw it, I felt that I could not have done a better job. I really felt that I would not have been able to do even 10 per cent of what Sanju has done. I think Sanjay Dutt is the real Munnabhai.


I am glad that I participated in the film in such a way that I may take the credit of giving the Indian film industry a character like Munnabhai by not doing it.


I genuinely think that Sanju is outstanding. There is this amazing and enduring big brotherly love in Sanju’s Munnabhai, which I don’t think I would have been able to bring to the table.




Rajeev Masand: You of course have chosen to do a lot less work than you used to do many years ago. I am guessing that allows you to have little more time for yourself?

Shah Rukh Khan: Not really. That wasn’t the case. I just recovered from my surgery and am much better now. But post-surgery for about two-years, I didn’t feel good at all.


I don’t want to crib about injuries that have happened but till about May this year I was in a bad state physically. I used to feel tired and my back used to hurt if I sat for a bit. After doing a dance sequence I used to get tired and it would pain. Even during the shooting of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna I was extremely unwell.


Then later on during May, when I was in Malaysia, I started feeling better. And for the last two-three months I have been feeling extremely better than before.


During the phase starting from Paheli, Main Hoon Na, Kal Ho Naa Ho till now, I have been unwell and did work just because I was supposed to.


Since May I have been working round the clock. I finished KANK, Don, and now we are almost done with Chak De. I really want to work like I used to about three years ago. My back is much better now.


Rajeev Masand: So you really like to be working all the time.


Shah Rukh Khan: I don’t like anything better than that. There is no alternative to work. I find nothing nicer than working. Bhatt saab tells me that I am a workaholic. If I don’t work I get a headache and I feel depressed. I like to work round the clock all the time.


Rajeev Masand: Do you like watching films as much as you like making them?


Shah Rukh Khan: If I can watch them alone quietly it’s great. I get time in my car so I put a movie in my laptop and watch it. But I am not much of a social viewer. I don’t like to go out in a public place and watch a film. I watch my own films only once.


On some rare occasions I do go to cinema theatres abroad. But if you really ask me I would rather watch a film on DVD all alone in the dark environs of my car or my home.


Rajeev Masand: So, what was the last film you watched on a DVD?


Shah Rukh Khan: I think the last one I watched was Rang de Basanti. Before that I watched Krrish in a cinema theatre. I have been watching some English dramas of late. I recently watched Murder One and Prison Break.




Rajeev Masand: When was the last time you got into a fight?


Shah Rukh Khan: I don’t fight with anyone. I haven’t gotten into a fight for a long time really.


Rajeev Masand: When was the last time you wanted to punch someone?


Shah Rukh Khan: I will wait till I hear your review of Don. I might want to punch you, who knows?


Rajeev Masand: What is the worst piece of professional advice that someone has given you?


Shah Rukh Khan: It has varied. I don’t know if it’s good or bad but a dear friend of mine Aziz (Mirza) asked me not to do Don. I was also told to cut my hair and to change my name because someone said that there couldn’t be a movie star by the name of Shah Rukh Khan.


I have been told that I speak too fast, I was told by everybody not to do a negative role. And yet I did films like Darr and Baazigar which so many stars had left.


Rajeev Masand: Can you imagine what your career would have been had you not done films like Darr, Baazigar and Anjam.


Shah Rukh Khan: My career would have been nothing if I had not done those films. Those films not only did well but they made me commercially viable as well. It made me unpredictable as an actor and I still live on that unpredictability. The character that I played in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna may not go down well with a lot of people. But somewhere down the line people will see you as this extremely unpredictable guy who can say or do anything.


Today, when I play a Don nobody is turning around saying Shah Rukh is doing a negative role. It has been accepted now. So it has given me a certain edge above others.




Rajeev Masand: What is the most odd piece of gossip that you have heard about yourself?


Shah Rukh Khan: I don’t know if its odd any longer. People think that I’m a gay. Recently somebody asked me if I’m still in touch with my feminine side. They ask me why did I do the Lux ad and things like that. They are very sweet about it but I know where they are heading. I think there is a feminine side to me, as people like to assume. This might rank as their top most gossip.


Then there was this gossip that I love fair women. And that’s why I don’t cheat on my family at home. I go abroad and am seen with fair ladies. Then there was this about my house that I have no windows at home because I want to make sure that nobody sees me. And many more such things have been said about me. This just keeps going on and on.


Rajeev Masand: Do you think that money can buy happiness?


Shah Rukh Khan: It makes it easier to get happiness. I do believe in a material world to a certain extent. I think material happiness is quite an important step before you look for spiritual happiness. There are people who think the other way round. They might also be right. But in the kind of education and the world where I have grown up, and we all are growing up, a certain level of consumerism become a reality.


I am not saying that it’s a dog-eat-dog or a really dangerous world out there. But the way you cannot deny something like ‘North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon,’ you also cannot belie the fact that materialism is the order of the day.


You can’t close your eyes or hide your face like an ostrich. In this world you need to have certain amount of comfort. What was luxury once has today become basic necessity.


There was a time when a car was considered a luxury; a second television was a big no-no. But today you need to have two sets of televisions. I think it is okay to have a certain amount of material comfort. Beyond that, emotional happiness will only come if you re honest, clear and in love with your near and dear ones.




Rajeev Masand: You are known to be a gizmo freak. What is the last toy that you purchased?


Shah Rukh Khan: I am waiting for the Playstation three to come up. I like Playstation. I am not a fan of an X-BOX 360, but Playstation is something that I am eagerly waiting for. It’s coming out in November, so either on my birthday or my son’s birthday we might have an excuse to buy it as a gift for either of us. If my wife doesn’t allow me to buy it for my son, he will buy it for me.


Rajeev Masand: Let’s talk a little about your mobile manners. How long do you take before you respond to a text message that someone sends to you?


Shah Rukh Khan: I try not to open an SMS when I know that there is nothing worthwhile that I can reply to. I get lots of them. But I only reply if there is something important that I have to say.


I hardly make any calls and keep my phone switched off most of the times. If I know that I can’t offer anything in return for a question or a request I don’t reply back.


Most of the people or at least the ones in my office understand this. If I don’t reply back they would know that I’m not being ill mannered or indifferent. They know I will reply when I have an answer to what they have asked.


Rajeev Masand: Is there anybody whose call you always take?


Shah Rukh Khan: Yes, there are about four or five people whose calls are the ones that I always take. My household calls, my son’s calls and the ones from few of my friends are the ones that I can never ignore.


Rajeev Masand: Is there anybody who is on your speed dial list?


Shah Rukh Khan: No, I find it too slow. Most of the people that I regularly call are there in my redial list and I don’t need to do much to call them.


Rajeev Masand: Do you ever worry about your mobile bill?


Shah Rukh Khan: No, I don’t and that is something really wrong. Even my office tells me that I don’t care about my phone bill.


I do have an international number but I take my India phone abroad and use it there. I feel a little at home with my own number. I hardly care about the bill, which is a wrong thing really.




Rajeev Masand: Do you even look at your mobile bill?


Shah Rukh Khan: No, the office does that for me.


Rajeev Masand: Let’s talk about you as a father and know more about your kids. You were learning guitar with your son. Tell me how are the guitar lessons going on?


Shah Rukh Khan: I gave it up. There is this wonderful guitar teacher Mr Bisma, an old gentleman who has been teaching me. He is an expert guitarist and one of the best guitar teachers in the country but even he could not teach me. I could only learn some notes.

I can play the Godfather theme and also Happy Birthday To You. It’s good because in a lot of films I have to hold the guitar, so now at least I know how to hold it properly.


I have an Alhambra and some really nice guitars at home but I don’t use them. My son is still learning how to play them. Hopefully when the need arises, he will help me. The basic reason why I learnt guitar was because I wanted to play it and sing along to impress all the women in the world. It’s a fantasy that men generally have when they are 18. I will be 41 in November, so I am just hoping that few years down the line I will get my son to play the guitar from the back and I will just strum the strings. He is doing much better than me.


Rajeev Masand: So ironic that you say this because in KANK your son was playing the violin and you were violently opposed to it.


Shah Rukh Khan: Yes, but that was just a character. I think a musical instrument is a must for every child. I could have been a better artist if I had learnt a little bit about music. I think I am just on the threshold of greatness because I don’t know music.


Rajeev Masand: But it’s never too late to learn anything.


Shah Rukh Khan: Yes, but then you don’t get enough time, you need to take two-three years off to learn something like this. My friend Juhi (Chawla) learns music and she practices for about four-five hours a day. That is something that I can’t do.


She sings wonderfully. I haven’t seen her perform but I just heard her while I was entering her house with my kids. After listening to her I felt that she is a wonderful singer.




Rajeev Masand: What works better with the kids? A yelling or pasting?


Shah Rukh Khan: I never yell at kids. I just hug them hard and threaten them not to do something again. I think the yelling part should be left to the moms. Moms yell, fathers must laugh it off.


Kids are closer to their moms, so you need to be nice to them to win them over. Whenever mom yells, I quickly move in and gain some brownie points by being kind to them. I would never be aggressive with a woman or a little child. I would rather die before I raise hand on a little kid or a lady.


Rajeev Masand: For what subjects do your kids come to you for help?


Shah Rukh Khan: I teach them Hindi. I am really very keen on teaching them the language because kids these days are weak at it. Everything has become anglicised today. So, I make it a point to teach them. I can help them with Math only till fifth standard because after that I was no good at it. I was very good with Sciences till about eighth standard. I teach them as and when they need me. But I make it a point to teach them Math and Hindi.


Rajeev Masand: Finally, why do you think it is the best thing for your kids to have a movie star dad?


Shah Rukh Khan: They get a good amount of home videos to watch. If you really ask me, the only fear I have is if I would be able to see my children live out of the shadow of my name.


When you become an actor you get a name undeservingly bigger than the work that you do. Your face is all over the hoardings, everyone talks about you and people refer to you as ‘King Khan’ and ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’. I would want my children to grow up and do what they wish to in a field that they choose to step in. They should not have to use the shadow of their father’s name. I think that is a bit of a downer for a movie star’s children.


I only wish if my son grows up to become a chemical engineer, he should be reckoned as Aryan Khan, the engineer and not as Shah Rukh Khan’s son.


If my daughter becomes a dentist tomorrow she should not be known for being ‘Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter who became a dentist.’ Whatever job they do, they should never shine in a reflected glory. They should be able to find their own feat. Even if they become movie stars, I hope they don’t have to be launched by anybody.


Rajeev Masand: Best of luck. We hope that you always remain a good father and an excellent movie star. Thank you so much for talking to us.