Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is as busy as ever, signing new projects and promoting home productions. In fact, he hasn’t been getting much sleep due to the intense work being put in on his pet project Ra.One. Thankfully, his other productions are being taken care of, such as how Roshan Abbas has held the reigns for Always Kabhi Kabhi. This most recent SRK production release is about high school kids, sending SRK back to his own school day memories. His schooling at St. Columba’s in Delhi was a very strict one, unlike the carefree filmi portrayals. “When I see Aryan and Suhana, I realize schools have become easier now. You couldn’t be a badmaash (truant) in my school.”
Shah Rukh has also signed on for Yash Chopra’s next directorial venture. The film will be a romance co-starring both Katrina Kaif – her first time opposite SRK – and Anushka Sharma. Leave it to Yash Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan to bring love and romance back into Indian cinema. But would you believe it that SRK feels strange these days enacting romantic scenes? “Nowadays, I sometimes feel strange doing certain things I have done well in the past. I have to convince myself that I can still do this and pull it off.”
If Yash Chopra’s next isn’t enough to get fans excited, there are several other projects in the works. Shah Rukh has been looking into the script of Xtrme City to be helmed by none other than Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese. “Yes, I met Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio in Berlin. They, including Paul Schrader, are very happy with the script. A few days ago, I sent them a mail saying that I’m going to read it, and we hope everything turns out well.”
The other project that SRK is keen to sign – once work on Ra.One has finished – is Vishal Bharadwaj’s Two States. At this point he is unsure who will be cast opposite him in the film, though names such as Asin and Priyanka Chopra have been making the rounds.
Of course the Baadshah’s fans have a lot to look forward to at the end of this year with the release of both Ra.One and Don 2. “While Ra.One is very technically slick, Don 2 will be very tough, and I call it a macho film.” And what about rumours about Ra.One’s skyrocketing budget? “There might be a year when my big films don’t do well, so I won’t have money to produce smaller films. But if a big one like Om Shanti Om does well, I can produce Billu, which in a way did well for us in terms of money too. As long as I have that freedom, I will continue this way.” SRK fans surely have no complaints to make with that!
