Expect an unforgettable night of amazing songs, non-stop dancing, and plenty of wit at Temptations Reloaded 2013 — Shah Rukh Khan Live in Concert on February 13, promised Bollywood's superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
Speaking to journalists from Muscat in Mumbai, the actor said, "The whole ideology behind the shows that I have done so far is to give value for money in terms of star presence on stage. People should get to see enough of the star. It shouldn't be a case of people attending to see the main stars but only getting to see very little of them. The audience at the Muscat concert will see enough of all the stars."
The Hindi film industry's megastar added, "We will present (the show) in such a way that people will relate to it. It will be a full-fledged show with the same creative team that handled previous Temptations Reloaded shows."
About performing overseas, King Khan said, "It always feels good to perform for Indians who are away from home. Besides, people abroad like Indian films, and they come to see people associated with the industry."
The badshah of Bollywood will perform at the concert organised by Light and Shadow Enterprises LLC along with actors Katrina Kaif, Preity Zinta and Ali Zafar.
The star also recalled having performed at a concert in Muscat 10 years ago.
"We did spend the evening there. I remember Muscat as a beautiful city," he said.
The articulate Khan answered a host of other questions related to his life and career.
On choosing Oman as a destination for shooting one of his films, Shah Rukh stated, "A film needs a logical reason to be shot in a particular place. I would love to do it, but it depends on where the film is set in the script. Our next film will be based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and 70 to 80 per cent of the film will be shot there. For me, the script should connect the film to the location. I don't believe in shooting a song or dance sequence for the sake of it. Times have changed! The days of shooting a song in a picturesque location — it doesn't work anymore."
India's highest-paid celebrity added, "Besides, as far as a film is concerned, it is based on the director's point of view. People assume that as an actor, I have a lot of influence in these matters, but I have hardly any. I just go wherever I am asked to go."
"Oman is a beautiful place, and one day, I hope a film of mine will be shot here. For the concert, I hope to arrive a day earlier to be able to look around," he said.
On the different kinds of films being made in Bollywood that do not include him, the superstar noted, "I think it is a wonderful sign of the times that you have such diverse films being made. One can say (these films) are in the same space as Chak De or Swades. I participate whenever I get the chance."
The actor with numerous mega-hits in his film career that spans over 20 years in Hindi cinema explained that he intentionally does "only two films per year."
"It is only realistic to do one film at a time. Fortunately or unfortunately, when people decide to do a film with me, I commit to it two years in advance. Once I have committed to it, everybody waits patiently and plans the preproduction. The films I choose depend on the mood I am in. After doing Ra One and Don, I felt that I must do a comedy, so I signed on with Chennai Express. The shooting for Chennai Express has just started. By the time I choose my next film, I will be 'stuck' for the next two years. That is why I am not involved in these (recent)films. But whenever I get the chance, I sit down with the directors who are doing these wonderful films and talk about it," said India's much-loved star.
On whether his production house, Red Chillies Entertainment, is set to produce low-budget films, Shah Rukh remarked, "Not yet. The films I have made with Red Chillies or that Red Chillies has done with me have been big-budget films. Somewhere down the line, we haven't moved down to smaller-budget films. If I do, I would like to act in our first production."
The actor is currently doing a "film that falls into this category"—A for Apple, B for Billi, C for Cutta, directed by his friend.
"It is a film about Delhi. It is not a Don or a Ra One. It is a much simpler film, dealing with daily life and the dreams of people who want to make it big in life a la Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. Red Chillies is producing it," he said.
The star has no immediate plans for television productions.
"After the completion of Chennai Express I will have the IPL. After that, I want to spend time with kids, and then I will be doing Happy New Year for Farah. Having said that, nothing has been offered to me recently for television."
On whether he would make changes to his cricket franchise IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh said, "If the team excelled the last time, why should we fix it? We are the defending champions, so why should it be changed? But I don't make those decisions.
It is Gautam (Gambhir), Venky (CEO and MD of KKR), and the team that makes all the decisions. I believe it is the team that clicks on a particular day and wins. We have had big names and lost miserably. We have had younger boys, who nobody even knew before they won matches for us. I believe when unknown players perform well, the team really wins. Like in the movies, when the content is good, the film does well. The content here is made by the players who are not big names but can script success with their performance. Many of our boys have made it to the national team, and that makes me feel proud."
The Bollywood star doesn't agree that he has been doing stereotypical roles.
"I think it has become fashionable to ask me if I will continue to do what I have been doing. Just to refresh everyone's mind, my last film was Jab Tak Hain Jaan, which was kind of different from Ra One, which was slightly different from Don, which was extremely different from Om Shanti Om, which was not a patch on Chak De India or My Name is Khan. So if you count the last six films I have done, they all seem to be a little different to me. I'm sorry if people don't think so."
He stressed, "The will is there to do any kind of role, but the script has to be given to me. I want to bring quality rather than quantity to films."
On whether he feels competition from newcomers, he stated, "It would be unfair for me, with a son, who is 15, and a daughter, who is 12 and a half, and with 22 years of work experience in 72 films, to think of the competition. I don't know if, at this stage, any of us would really sit down and ask, 'Must I shift gears to get ahead of the youngsters, who are catching up with me?' I believe I am sitting in a car of my own, with its own gears, and this car is on a completely different track from where these youngsters are running so wonderfully. I have been given so much in terms of the work I have done. It would be extremely small of me to sit down and compete with newcomers."
"Besides," he noted, "in five years, my son might become a star actor — which doesn't mean that I have said he is going to be an actor; I am just giving you an example. It gives me an odd feeling when people say this, but maybe I am in a position where everybody is competing with me. In what I do, I am the best, and none of them should catch up with me. If you play the catch-up game, you become a copy."
"All youngsters should be taking Indian cinema forward with their talent. That is when cinema grows," the star advised.
The actor, who has achieved much in life, pointed out that he wouldn't change anything about his life. "If I were asked to live the same life again, I would give an arm and a leg to have it. I have got a lot more than I thought I would get, even in my wildest dreams. The work I have done has been fantastic. I have beautiful children, a lovely wife, and a fantastic job. It is only rarely that one enjoys going to work every morning. I do this day in and day out. To be in a line of work to which I have dedicated half of my life and to enjoy it even now as much as I did on the first day is the greatest gift to me."
Talking about the secret behind his boundless energy, Shah Rukh Khan joked, "I wish I was endorsing 'Boost'."
He explained, "Like I said, it is because I like what I do. It is just that I get so excited about work. The most exciting part of my life is the morning, when I go to shoot—whether it is a film, advertisement, or even a small clip."
About the corporate houses influencing the film world, he said, "On the business front, Indian films have become organised. We don't have to deal with individual distributors anymore, which is not a bad thing. We now deal with corporate houses, who do the distribution work for us. Our team works in tandem with them. All these corporations have their reputation at stake. They try to understand the logistics of filmmaking. They also back different kinds of films because they believe in them. Corporations have thinned out our risks, which they have shouldered themselves."
On the film industry, he remarked, "People may not think it is important, but Indian films have played a huge role in spreading the culture of India. I believe the films of a country become popular when that country is doing well economically. The fact that Indian films are doing well is because India itself is on the threshold of great development." On his romantic image, he said, "It is a misnomer. I am not romantic by nature. I am caring and sweet."
The superstar roots for equality in a man–woman relationship.
"I feel that as a man, one should respect a woman or love her. It is the little things that matter. It is not the flowers or the moonlit dinners. These things look good in films, but it is the little things you do, such as showing respect for a woman, showing that you care for her, and treating her well, that matters. If you treat a woman as your equal in every aspect of life, I think that is when you are most romantic. I think men tend to forget that because, socially, we have been brought up like that. The biggest romantic is one who thinks of a woman as his equal. I think this holds sway in any relationship."
As soon as a man thinks he is superior, romance goes out the window.
The actor, who has been battling a huge controversy lately, admitted that controversies rattle him.
"Publicly, I maintain a stoic face to show that (controversies)don't rattle me, but privately, I am disturbed. As an actor, the biggest boon and the biggest bane is when you come out in public, you have to act or just be happy. If I walk into a meeting without smiling, there will be three other controversies. It is the negative part of being a successful actor in that everybody wants you to be entertaining at any given time. Publicly, I don't allow controversies to bog me down, but privately, they are irritating, to say the least, and extremely 'hateable', to say the most," he stressed.
The man with innumerable hits to his credit said his criteria for choosing a script has changed over the years.
"When I started out, I thought my role should be important. Then, it became about the big names I could work with. When you are 24, you are like 'I should get the best role, so I should act well. Then, I should work with the top people.' Those are the things that turn you on. As you develop your craft and continue in your art, what starts to matter is whether (the script) is a story you want to tell at that point in time? Can I get like-minded people to tell this story? You look for like-minded people to work with. So it changes as you grow in this field," he stated.
The actor revealed that the three most important things in his life are his family, work, and ideas.
"My family comes first. For me, there is nothing beyond my children. I feel the most peace and happiness when I am with my children. Secondly, my work is extremely important to me. That really turns me on. I would not be able to walk away from it. I enjoy it the most. I still think I have a long way to go. I don't think I can achieve what I want to achieve. I would like to see things or portray things that have not been seen before. The third is ideas.
"What is important is that I am in a space where I can give wings to ideas, which I couldn't do previously since it was about surviving, making a career, making a house for my children, considering their education. Now, I would like to bring together like-minded people to create something new. I want to promote things in my country, which I can afford to do right now." |
