‘NO PRIVACY MEANS FANS LOVE YOU’

Shah Rukh Khan looks at the positive in fandom, even the part where stars get mobbed, kissed or scratched by fans

[To] anyone who complains about it (stardom) visàvis privacy that they are always under limelight or paparazzi, I am like, ‘Come on. Which human being has the good luck that wherever you go, people come and take your picture’ SHAH RUKH KHAN ACTOR

Shah Rukh Khan has spent over two decades in Bollywood and almost throughout his film journey, he has been a superstar. But the actor, who turned 52 last week, says he doesn’t have an inkling of his journey towards superstardom.

“I would like to know how I became a star, and God’s honest truth that I don’t know. There are a lot of factors at work. If some of the other people, who behave like a star, – know it, then they must know something. I would like to sit with them and ask them, ‘Bhai, bata do mujhe bhi (laughs),’” he says.

Unlike many celebs who complain about the lack of privacy, Shah Rukh is absolutely okay with the attention that comes with the star status. “Anyone who complains about it vis-à-vis privacy that they are always under limelight or paparazzi, I am like, ‘Come on. Which human being has the good luck that wherever you go, people come and take your picture,’” says SRK, who is no stranger to getting mobbed by fans trying to get a glimpse of the star or get a picture clicked with him. A fan of this fandom, he says, “When people take pictures with you, kiss you, scratch you or hug you, and people don’t give you any right to privacy, it actually means they love you.”

There’s no doubt that he is a people’s person, but one can get intimidated by his stardom, right? Shah Rukh doesn’t let that happen, as he likes to keep things “basic” in life. “When my team members or a new director [works with me for the first time], they have a bit of a perception that ‘yeh aisa hoga’. Half of the time, directors are wary that ‘yeh aisa dikh raha hai par aisa hoga nahi’. But after some time, they realise that I do nothing special. So, there are no trappings, but from the outside, it might appear [like there’s a lot],” says Shah Rukh.

How does he look at all the work he has done, especially his romantic films? “I think they’ve become part of my nature. You won’t remember how you tie shoelaces, but it’s part of your nature, so it’s another lifetime but it’s a part of my nature,” he says.