Shah Rukh Khan is busy promoting Raees before its 25 January release and we got talking to him about his gangster thriller and the life of a superstar.
Q: How do you prep for roles like Don, and now Raees?
Shah Rukh Khan: Don is slick, smart, sexy. It’s kind of unrealistic. Like James Bond gone rogue, like a bad James Bond, but in the end you’re rooting for him, hoping he gets away.
Raees is very reality based. My preparation involved a lot of research about bootlegging that happened during ‘85 - ’95. The story, though not rural, is earthy.
Don is very urban based, private planes, jets. But this one is on cycles and motorcycles and involves reality based events. The dialogues weren’t written for style. They were written for substance. This how people speak in that part of the world.
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Q: A lot gets written about you, and you’re constantly being judged. How do you deal with and react to negativity and criticism?
Shah Rukh Khan: See, you're going to get vilified, you're going to be nullified, you're going to be glorified, held responsible for things that you say or don't say, or do or don't do, and that's a part of the public life you choose. The main thing is how do you deal with life and what you believe in.
There are ten things said about me everyday, and eight of them are very nice, two of them are not nice. I don’t think I’m as nice as the nice things also. And I’m not as bad as the bad things also. I must be somewhere in the middle, we all are regular people.
A job is a job, and this one job. I like the adulation, so I have to take the bad bits too. This is the path I chose. I like being recognised by people, I like working for people, hoping that a lot of people will come to watch my movies. I enjoy it and there will be some disenchantment. But you need to take it in your stride.
Q: Which actors do you like to follow on social media? Who do you think writes well?
Shah Rukh Khan: I actually want to unfollow everybody! I don’t mean it meanly. There are so many things to read in the morning!
Some of them write so much, early in the morning. Jitesh, not an actor, a journalist, he writes so much. Sometimes he hashes songs in the the middle of the night. But no, I haven’t followed anyone recently. I want to find out if I can follow people secretly.
See, if I follow someone, it’ll make news. If I unfollow someone, it’ll make news. I’m scared of following people! I'll figure it out. I'll ask Twitter or someone in my office only.
Q: Your look is much talked about, the Pathani that you wear, the locket, what were your inputs, how did you feel about it?
Shah Rukh Khan: I’m not a big fan of myself, genuinely, I’m not very vain. I’m just, naturally, so good looking, I look good in everything!
I’m very shy, honestly, I don’t sit in front of the mirror, I’m not one for vanity or even looks. When they would do makeup, it took 8 hours, so you can’t help looking into the mirror, but I’m not a vain person, I don’t think I’m good looking.
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