Tells Geo News in exclusive interview playing the role of a teenager in ‘Fan’ movie was not difficult for him; works for 12 to 15 hours daily
LAHORE: Famous Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) has said he is a very shy person in real life. “When anybody praises me, I feel awkward,” he says in an exclusive talk with Hamid Mir for Geo News channel on Sunday.
Shah Rukh reveals that he remains focused on his work only, and his life is boring to some extent. “I work for 12 to 15 hours daily, and spend the remaining time with my children,” he says adding that “I still put in that much hard work today that I used to do when I started my career.”
The top actor, also known as King Khan, says, “I have never planned anything in life and whatever successes I got are only because of blessings of Allah Almighty and the prayers of my parents.” He says that whatever he earns he invests in his new films and that’s why he has no money to buy his own aeroplane.
About his upcoming movie, Fan, Shah Rukh says that the idea of the movie was discussed with him by the film director Maneesh Sharma some period back. His inspiration for writing the character of ‘Fan’ was his friend Guru, who liked Shah Rukh Khan as an actor very much.
SRK says that playing the role of a 17-18 years old boy in the movie ‘Fan’ was not difficult for him. However, wearing make-up to adopt the getup of Guru was very difficult, as it took him five hours daily for the purpose. Even removing that make-up would take an hour at least, he adds. And if ever the make-up was spoiled for some reasons, it would take another five hours to wear it again, SRK says.
It used to be silicone makeup, and very annoying for him, he recalls. For the purpose, a special makeup artist from Hollywood, 75-year-old Greg Cannom, was hired.
Shah Rukh Khan says he has always liked sportsman. Right from his struggle days, he had been a fan of Indian athlete Milkha Singh and boxer Muhammad Ali. Shah Rukh wanted to become a hockey player but his mother wanted him to become ‘Dilip Kumar’. “I hope now every mother wants to see his son as Shah Rukh Khan,” he says in a lighter vein.
Shah Rukh joined the film industry after the death of his mother. Earlier, he used to work as a television and stage actor. He says he was not very much fond of acting in movies, though he wanted to produce movies. He came to Mumbai for the first time in connection with shooting of a TV serial ‘Circus’, and his first movie was ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’. SRK says he appeared to be so odd in the movie that he fled away from Mumbai.
About negative roles in initial movies, Shah Rukh says that he had come from theatre, and therefore got ready to do any roles to create a space for himself in the film industry. He says he had no sense of the hero type roles, and he got those roles in ‘Dar’ and ‘Bazigar’ movies which had been rejected by the ‘heroes’ of those days.
After negative roles, adds Shah Rukh Khan, Yash Chopra introduced him in positive characters. SRK says he was shy of doing romantic roles, and he had never thought of becoming a good romantic hero.
Shah Rukh is a fan of Imran Khan. He recalls that he was rebuked by Imran Khan at Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground long ago when he had tried to get an autograph from him. “Two, three years back, when I met Imran Khan, I complained to him about it,” says SRK.
He says Fawad Khan and Mahira are good Pakistani artistes. Mahira is very beautiful and good actress and she puts in hard work to perform her role, says SRK. He believes that more women love him in Pakistan, and his Pakistani fans still remember his role in ‘Dar’ movie. He says his Indian fans like his roles in ‘Bazigar’ and ‘Chak De India’ movies.
He says that it is good that Indian movies are shown in Pakistani cinemas and Pakistani artistes perform in Indian movies. He believes common Indians and Pakistanis are very close to each other.
About his IPL team Kolkata Night Riders, Shah Rukh says he didn’t give much time to his team. He says he has good people who perform their duties efficiently. He says he only goes to watch IPL matches and does not spend much time with his team. He terms it a good experience to have Pakistani former cricketer Wasim Akram as his team member. He says Wasim selected very good players for his team, who are now playing for Indian cricket team. He says Indian players are not allowed to play for any league except for the IPL.
Shah Rukh Khan says he has visited Pakistan twice; and in 1980, he spent six months in Pakistan. His uncle and his family live in Peshawar, and he remains in contact with them.
In his message to his fans, Shah Rukh Khan says they should not be afraid of failure in life, rather learn a lesson from it. They should always work honestly and put in hard work to get successes. They should always depend on themselves, and as much hard work they would put in, life would become as much easier for them. Nothing is better than hard work in life, he adds.
