SRK Reveals All!

Asked if he could reveal the reason behind his two rather different two looks in his soon to be released ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ — was he playing a double role? — Shah Rukh says, “I cannot give that answer…… People are gossiping a lot on the Internet about the story of this film.”

Did you know there is an ‘inspirational’ connection between Shah Rukh Khan’s next cinematic release, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and his last television outing, Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hai?

Shah Rukh’s dual looks in Rab Ne… are ‘inspired’ by two of the contestants from the game show. “The moustache look I have in the film was modeled after a contestant who used to work at a government electricity board. That character in the film is called Surinder Sahni,” he says. Unfortunately, he adds, that particular contestant was evicted in the preliminary round itself.

“The second look in the film is hero material. The character’s name is Raj Kapoor and the look is inspired by another Paanchvi Pass contestant called Bobby. I loved his look. When I complimented him, he said people called him John Ebrahim (John Abraham). That was very funny; I loved it. I have impersonated these two men in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi,” says Shah Rukh.

Rab Ne.. is the only film Shah Rukh is doing this year after the super-successful Om Shanti Om. Rab Ne.., he says, is very special because it marks the directorial comeback of his long time director-producer friend Aditya Chopra; Chopra’s last directorial Mohabbatein was released eight years ago.

His first film, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge is one of Hindi cinema’s biggest hits and is still running in at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir theatre, where it has completed 600 weeks.

“Both Adi (Aditya Chopra) and I could not believe we have spent more than 13 years together post Dilwale. Sometimes, I feel this happened just yesterday. Time has flown so fast and I have been working continuously till date,” says Shah Rukh, who turned 43 on November 2.

He adds, “The promos of Rab Ne.. were to release six days earlier but Adi and Yash Chopraji wanted to release it on my birthday to make it special. So I feel happy and privileged.”

Asked if he could reveal the reason behind his two rather different two looks in the film — was he playing a double role? — Shah Rukh says, “I cannot give that answer. I can only say the process of the film is very good. I have read a lot about how one of the characters I play is 45 years old and is married to a younger girl. This is not true. People are gossiping a lot on the Internet about the story of this film.”
Doesn’t he feel he looks funny with the moustache? “I know a lot of people will say — kaise baal rakhen hai, mooch kaisi hai? Let me tell them this is a funny comedy and an entertaining film with a love angle,” he answers.

“Obviously,” he continues, “there are Yash Raj elements in the film. I have played roles of Raj and Rahul very often but, this time, I am playing the role of a common man. I feel the common man will be able to relate to this film because he will see himself in the character of Surinder Sahni. The look is an anti-thesis of Shah Rukh the hero. Rab Ne will remind you of a Hrishikesh Mukherjee film that has an Aditya Chopra touch. It is a small film with three to four characters.”

Why did they choose Anushka Sharma, who looks taller, to play the female lead?
“Today, all heroines are taller than me,” he grins. “If you notice, they stand behind me whereas the norm is that heroes stand behind heroines. I was doing a song for Billo Barber with Deepika Padukone recently and Priyadarshan (the director) said I should tell Deepika to take off her shoes because she was looking taller than me. I replied that she is taller than me even without shoes.”

He says of Anushka, “I have learnt a lot from all these younger actors. I react to their acting. I feel good when I am in young company. My performance is improving after working with these youngsters. I can only say bhagwan ka ashirwad hai that I get a chance to work with these youngsters.”

Which begs the question — how does he keep young?
“There is no fixed regimen for fitness,” he replies. “When I was doing the Dard-e-Disco song (for Om Shanti Om), I used to work out. Today, I don’t do that. I feel I have good thoughts for everyone and a lot of positive attitude that keeps me fit. Of course, the only thing I do is dye my hair. I work a lot as usual. I have been working non-stop for the last 18 years. My wife Gauri tells me I see you getting up every day and working the same way as you did earlier. I feel work is my religion. I feel that if you want to progress then work should be your new religion. It is the only universal religion. It is your birthright to keep the religion to which you were born but one must also consider work as their religion.”

Finally, does he feel that he should retire? Shah Rukh says, “In entertainment business you never retire. You only retire when you don’t get work. It happens to everybody.”

What about Amitabh Bachchan, who is yet to retire at 66? Shah Rukh said, “He is a world class actor. If anyone wants to learn anything about entertainment, he should see the life of Amitabh Bachchan. He is a unique person.”