Note: All interview text belongs to Rediff.com. Please read their full interview with SRK here .
In a special interview with Rediff.com, Shahrukh Khan talked about his latest release Chak De India, his alleged “war” with the Bachchans and what’s next. Here’s a recap!
It’s quite obvious that Shimit Amin’s Chak De India is not something that SRK or Yash Raj Films would usually be assosciated with. First of all, the title character’s name isn’t Rahul or Raj. Don’t forget, there is no lead heroine, and no romance whatsoever. SRK heartily agrees, “Yes, it’s a non-Shah Rukh khan film with 16 actresses and no love angle. But sports, as a genre in films, is also not popular.”
So why now? Has SRK come to a stage in his career where he’s tired of the run-of-the-mill naach gaana flicks? Is he looking for something deeper and something different? He claims that his wife encourages him to experiment, but also adds “But inside I am scared… I am scared of Chak De. Over the years, my audience has seen me doing the usual song and dance stuff. Suddenly, I am doing a film where I am surrounded by 16 girls and I don’t even have a single song. I can’t do this kind of film as I am not big actor.”
Hold on there! Did SRK just say he’s not a big actor? Who’s he kidding? He clarifies, “Ya, I mean I am a big star but not a big actor to keep experimenting.”
Not many know that King Khan was once a hockey player himself, so we’d expect the shooting of CDI to come as a breeze for him. “It was very difficult and different… I couldn’t play. As they say, you need to keep practicing if you want to play any sport well,” he says.
Asked about his reasons for doing the film, SRK claims that the director who is a good friend of his was the only reason for doing the film. Also, a fact probably not known to many, is that SRK had earlier refused the film because it clashed with his dates for KANK and Don. At the same time, Adi Chopra didn’t want to wait to start the film. SRK elaborates, “But it took them some six to seven months to find the girls and once again, Adi came to me. This time, I had time so I accepted it.”
Surrounded by girls is not something new to SRK, as a majority of his fan following is made up of females. So how different was it this time around? He tells Rediff, “The rawness, newness and nervousness of these girls taught me a lot… I was like a semi coach in real life for acting too.”
Okay, enough of CDI. Straight to the dirt…why does it seem like SRK has been getting closer to the Khan’s lately? Khan clears the air, explaining, “It’s not that we are Langotiya yaars but we do share our notes with each other. If I get off early, I call Salman and we meet at my place or his. Hrithik told me the story of Krrish 2 and he knows the subject of my Om Shanti Om. We do talk about directors and recommend cinematographers or even scripts to each other.” On a more interesting note, “Aamir calls me up after watching my film (mimics Aamir) and says, ‘Shah Rukh, I want to talk to you. You shouldn’t have done this film.'” Trust Aamir to be honest!
And now the dreaded subject…the Bachchans. So is there really a “cold war” or is it a load of crap? Once again, for the millionth time, SRK clarifies, “Abhishek was with me till 4 am last night. We don’t have anything between us. But the media is not ready to buy that story.”
It’s a known fact that his production company hasn’t exactly had a winning spree, with films like Paheli flopping badly in the past. Still, SRK is raring to go and has opened a special effects studio. Being completely honest, he admits, “There were reports about me preparing to buy a studio in Mumbai. That’s untrue. I just got a 8,000-9,000 square feet place on lease at Andheri. Real estate prices in Mumbai are sky high and it’s not possible for me to buy such a big office.”
And finally, what do we get to see next from the Baadshah of Bollywood? Instead of beating around the bush, this straightforward star states, “I’m on vacation for four months. After that, I will start Raju Hirani’s film followed by Shankar’s. I’m also doing one film with Karan Johar and another one for Yash Raj.” Well, with two films ready for release this year and four in the pipeline, it looks like age is not a factor for the Khan with a twinkle in his eye.
