He may be the undisputed 'Badhshah' of Bollywood, but Shah Rukh Khan has said he has never been "desperate" to maintain his stardom. The 51-year-old actor said he never came to films with the aim of becoming a superstar and hence, the success or the failure of his movies do not bother him after a point.
"I wake up and I go and act. Sometimes well, sometimes badly and bad is also closer to my heart and so is good. I feel bad if my film doesn't do well, I feel good if it does well, but all these things last just for about six hours and I move on. I have never been attached. Beyond that there has never been a desperate measure to maintain (my) stardom," Shah Rukh said.
The actor added he never expected to be called a star. "I have never given more importance or credibility to it. I have never felt I have become a star. I have never done anything to retain the stardom, to make it or break it."
He said the biggest task for him has been to maintain the quality of his work as once someone becomes successful, they are always expected to excel in whatever they do. "The biggest problem a big star finds is trying to retain the goodness of cinema that he or she does. You think you can't fail, but there is an amazing enjoyment in failing. Once you become a public figure, you are expected to deliver excellence every time. That is when perks of failure are taken away from you."
The actor is known for his witty style, but his humour has also landed him in trouble at times. Shah Rukh, however, has made peace with it as he believes reacting to what others say about him will not be of much help. "I am told many times that my humour is misunderstood and it's unfortunate, so I won't be humorous? What an actor or public figure feels will never be understood by people and even if I try to do that, I will spend most of my lifetime. You reach a point, not out of disregard to what people think of me, but I can't waste time on this as I have to spend time with myself. The most humorous thing is the analysis people make of me, like the phenomenon that Shah Rukh is, but they all are far from the truth."
Shah Rukh also believes that the digital media will evolve eventually and the focus would shift towards putting out the right content instead of running after speed. "Right now because of the digital age, media doesn't know which part to hang on. Do you want to hang on to the speed with which you are giving information, do you want to hang on to a selfie or picture story or hang on to a trend or create a trend? But finally it will all settle down to basic things, for actors, writers, filmmakers, that is what is the correct thing or right knowledge, it's not going to be about the speed or how fast you can give the knowledge but about how correct the knowledge is."
His journey to stardom can serve as an inspiration for aspiring actors but the superstar does not believe that his life story can be made into a film as it is "not that controversial". Shah Rukh said if anyone will write his biopic, it would be more of a success story than a life journey as people still do not know some of the most interesting things related to him.
"For so many years, people who are closest to me will tell you, I have never let people know the most interesting parts of my life, so you will never get a good script unless I write it. Whatever they will make of my life, it will just be a success story which I think is extremely boring," Shah Rukh said.
Shah Rukh started his journey with television shows like 'Fauji' and 'Circus' and later made a switch to films with 'Deewana'. The actor initially played anti hero parts in films such as 'Baazigar', 'Darr' and 'Anjaam', but soon went on to become the king of romance, courtesy his movies like 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', 'Dil to Pagal Hai' and 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai'.
From having a fight with Salman Khan in 2008 to the Wankhede brawl, Shah Rukh has had his fair share of controversies, but the actor still believes he has to do something "controversial" to make his biopic interesting enough for the audience. "If it's not controversial then it will be a boring story. I am telling you success stories are very boring. I would not like anyone to make it and I am not saying I don't want anyone to make a biopic on me, but I don't think it's a great subject, not as yet," he said.
Shah Rukh Khan referred to himself as "an ageing movie star" in an inspirational talk show he delivered recently, but the actor has said that he has no plans to retire from acting ever. The 51-year-old star, who considers his audience like a family, said he was confident that he could continue being an actor throughout his life.
"I think work becomes a part of your life. I don't think I would ever be able to retire from acting, unfortunately for a lot of people. Am I blindly believing that I can act for the rest of my life? No, with my eyes open, I believe I can act for the rest of my life. Will I become the bad actor and be finished and done with it? Maybe. But this thought has never come (of retirement),” he stated.
He is often criticised for not trying anything different in terms of his films, but the actor said he had evolved with each and every film and matured as a person. "I tell them try with me, but not out of anger because I do believe I do different acting with all humility. I try new things all the time. I am also evolving as a person as I started 25 years back. I am 51 years old now, I must be really stupid if I haven't evolved," he said.
He even mentioned about his kids asking him “if is he bored of acting in films?” to his he said, "Sometimes when they (family) come to see the shooting they get tired. Yesterday, my daughter (Suhana) saw a song from Imtiaz Ali's film (on screen). She had seen the same song when I was shooting for it in Punjab. I must have shot it ten times. So when it got over she asked me, 'Papa it's only for three minutes. How are you doing it 20 times? Don't you get bored?' And I genuinely told her, 'I don't get bored of doing it'."