Our Favourite Snippets From Conversations With Shah Rukh Khan Over The Years

Meet him once, spend time chatting with him and you can never forget the man. Not because he is a superstar, not because he is a man of many roles, not because he is Shah Rukh Khan – but because he can engage you in conversation for hours, on any topic. Be it films, sports, food, the city, people, even the state of a person’s health – his repertoire of information and anecdotes seems endless.

On one occasion, I spent ample time with him, in a chat that spanned years – as I, without much prodding, urged him to walk back through time all the way to his breakthrough in Baazigar. At other times, we’ve chatted on the phone. And on yet another occasion, I spent but a scarce 10 minutes in conversation with him, this time in the capital, but came away with enough material to make a great cover story – due to the speed of our entire conversation.

And that is Shah Rukh Khan – the man who is a prolific entertainer on reel and a great raconteur in real life. A man who has been proclaimed, long ago, ‘King Khan’ and the ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’.

Today, the father of grown up children and a man who touches 52, the Khan has gently aged – but not lost his appeal. His trademark stance – with his outstretched arms – still makes girls go weak-in-the-knees. His voice with its varied inflections can effortlessly turn on the charm or ooze a darker emotion. And his conversations, as everyone who meets him will vouch, can still be as engrossing as ever!

On the occasion of his birthday, Verve presents a few of his many quotes that we loved from our interactions with him…..

“I have only one core competency – acting.”
“You cannot take the actor out of me. I am always acting.”

“I will hang upside down to get perfection.”
“So what if it is physically taxing and I am stretching the envelope all the time. I don’t give my 100 per cent to the work…I give it my all.”

“I never wear a burqa to keep people at a distance.”
“I would like to personally thank most of my fans for what I am. I can never thank them enough for what I have achieved…. People give me my space because I am accessible. I never hide behind dark glasses.”

“I wish I could do it all over again and do it better.”
“I’m very shy about looking at myself. I feel a little odd and I always think I am not good looking enough. Of late, I have started getting used to seeing myself on screen, but I still feel very awkward. I think my voice and walk are not right or my body language is not good.”

“I find it very strange myself that so many people like me.”
“Almost every kid knows me. Every mother wants to hug me. I feel it is not because of my acting, but because, when I am moving around in my real life, I don’t have a starry image. I’m very accessible and approachable.”

“My wife gets a little disturbed with my wisecracks.”
“I have a great sense of humour and you can’t take that away from me. I joke with my friends and my kids also. My children are developing that comic sense too, so I’m happy.”

“I attempt to ensure acceptance in groups of people.”
“I need the money, but I also need to make sure that the product really needs me in some way. I try to stylise the endorsements a little bit.”

“I have never shied away from sharing, giving and loving.”
“I believe in different kinds of love. It could be different with my children; it could be different with my friends, different with my actors. But I have a lot of love to give. I think that because I am such a lover in real life, I can translate it in the lines given to me a little better than someone else who is not a lover.”

“I have come to be regarded as a semi-brand of sorts.”
“I was the first actor to begin advertising in this fashion. Anil Kapoor warned me that I would be killed by overkill…. Even though I did not work towards this goal, I have come to be regarded as a good business proposition.”

“Charity begins at home.”
“There is nothing wrong with wanting to be rich and famous. Lots of my dances go into making hospital rooms… many also go into making fancy bedrooms for me.”

 “I am a trier. A very hard trier.”
“There was a company AVIS, whose tagline used to be ‘because we are second best we try harder’. I’m always making an attempt that whatever I am indulging in – from being a father to being an actor – I’m able to do something new…. So I wake up every morning thinking today is going to be a novel day. And that is what makes everything so special.”

“Without pain, there is no gain.”
“Somewhere I believe in divine retribution – you pay physically, emotionally or mentally for some wrongdoings in this very life.”

“I do not feel tired at all.”
“I just cannot see myself chilling on my balcony, watching the sunset…. For years, everyone has been telling me that all my activity will catch up with me and take its toll. But, if I run fast enough, it never will.”

Verve’s pick of SRK’s films we love (in alphabetical order)
Baazigar
Dear Zindagi
Devdas
Dil To Pagal Hai
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Don
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…
Kal Ho Naa Ho
Main Hoon Na
Karan Arjun
Pardes
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Chak De! India
Swades
Veer Zaara