It was during the course of an interview many weeks ago at Mumbai’s Film City Complex, when Shah Rukh Khan briefly dwelt upon his evolving role as an actor.

The conversation had largely focused on his role as brand ambassador for Hyundai Motor India, but it was only natural for a detour to be made to cinema. “Somewhere, down the line, I have been very, very fortunate to have a (right) set of people in my film career,” said Shah Rukh.

And while there was no specific reference to any of his new films, including Zero , which hits the screens on Friday, he elaborated upon what he believed were important ingredients for him in the entertainment business.

“For me, I truly believe that the vision of storytelling is always about the story writer and director. If they can fit me into some place which augurs well for the audience to come down, maybe attracted by me, and then still like that story beyond me, that then is the whole point,” said Shah Rukh.

Beyond this, he said it was equally important to be fully charged up and raring to go. In his view, even after working this many years and going through endless hours of shooting everyday, boredom or fatigue had not set in.

Pointing out to the hyper busy set at the studio, where people were getting ready for the next shoot while barking out instructions, he remarked, “Even after you have worked for years, the first criteria is that early in the morning, it has to make you the most excited person to be in this room.”

It is this mantra that Shah Rukh holds dear to his heart while gearing up to do a new film. “Am I going to have fun doing this for the next 100 days? That really is the first criteria, because if I don’t have fun, I can’t make you happy,” reasoned the star.

He was also quick to add that this formula could sometimes fail simply because “my kind of fun may not be your kind of fun”. It is also in this context that Shah Rukh tells everyone in the business that they have to stop looking at the math at a certain point in life.

According to him, the head has to think for sure, but the heart also needs to keep pace and this is where the excitement lies. “The head can crunch numbers and do the math, but if you don’t like the game you are playing, then the end score does not matter even if it is great,” declared the star.

As he put it, one needs to “start liking the game for the sake of the game, instead of just the end result of the match”. Today, at 53, Shah Rukh is working with a host of directors who, by his own admission, are younger than him. “All of them say that they have waited for years to make me do something simply because they love me,’ he said good-naturedly.

It was also clear that the actor had, through his screen performances over the years, impacted some of their lives in different ways and they were keen to cast him in their films. It was only when Shah Rukh met them did he realise that these directors had been waiting for an opportunity “to turn you around and make you do what we think will look best on you”.

From the star’s point of view, it meant that he had to be pliable enough to say ‘Let’s go for it’! As he put it, this is because by the end of it all, “they are the ones who make the product and they normally don’t get that much credit” as opposed to the lead actors.

It will be interesting to see how the audience reacts to Zero, but it is clear that for Shah Rukh, the energy levels will remain high irrespective of the box-office verdict.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW