Shy superstar

To his tens of millions of fans, actor and producer Shah Rukh Khan is the unrivalled King of Bollywood, known for his macho film persona.

But the high-energy, fast-speaking superstar, who is visiting Singapore next weekend for the Zee Carnival, showcasing Indian entertainment, gives a rare glimpse of his sensitive side in an hour-long telephone interview from Mumbai.

India's top romantic leading man confesses that in real life he is 'painfully shy of women'.

Khan, who turns 43 next month and has been married to Gauri Khan for 17 years, with whom he has two children, adds: 'I am just very shy of girls. I have never looked into my wife's purse or her wardrobe.'

The man who is everywhere in India - from movie billboards in the streets and shows on TV to making headlines for buying a cricket team and supporting the current Bollywood film-workers strike - also has another surprising revelation.

The famous actor says that he is 'an intensely private and reclusive man' who cries when he thinks of his late parents.

Khan's Muslim parents - Meer Taj Mohammad Khan and Lateef Fatima - died before he found fame in Bollywood and to this day he mourns the loss time cannot heal.

Says Khan: 'I often go to the terrace at my home and cry. I cry not because they haven't been able to see the successful side of me, I cry because even if I was a complete failure they would have wished me well and loved me unconditionally. Sometimes I cry over silly things, like my car breaking down. I end up saying, 'Mum, I wish you were around, you could have told me what to do'. Even my kids know that it's okay to see their dad cry.'

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Bollywood badshah Shah Rukh at Aby-baby’s ‘Drona’ premiere

So, it was not only Abhishek’s lady love Aishwarya who hurried her way to ‘Drona’s premiere, Bollywood’s ‘Baadshah’ Shah Rukh Khan along with wife Gauri also graced the red carpet at the sparkling venue.

World’s most beautiful woman Aishwarya Rai Bachchan dazzled in black, sporting her ever so contagious smile and clinging on to hubby and the star of the flick, Abhishek.

‘Drona’ features Abhishek Bachchan in a super-hero character and the movie could be his second solo hit after the 2007 release ‘Guru’. Alongside Abhishek, the movie features Priyanka Chopra as Drona’s love bird and bodyguard, Sonia; Kay Kay Menon in a devilish role of Riz Raizada and Jaya Bachchan as Queen Jayati, the mother of ‘Drona’.

Talking to Spicezee Abhishek said, “ ‘Drona’ is no super hero movie, you have to watch it to like it. And yes I am very happy my entire family is here, Ash is here, and a lot of my friends are here too. So, just wishing that ‘Drona’ does well with the audiences.”

Here’s what wifey Aishwarya had to say about ‘Drona’, “ I saw it loved it and like Abhishek said it’s no super hero flick. It’s a fantasy movie, children are going to love it, it’s like childhood revisited. Honestly, I cannot recall a movie like this in a long time.” It’s no super I am excited and waiting to watch him in his super hero avatar.”

However, Daddy amitabh had nothing much to add, “ The movie was certainly enjoyable, the visual effects were good.” About the success of the movie, “I really cannot predict anything right now. You will have to watch it and find out for yourself.”

The charming Shah Rukh wished for the movie’s success and hoped it to be as exciting as it promised to be.

In an exclusive chit-chat with Spicezee Shah Rukh spoke of his association with the Bachchans, “Abhishek and I are good friends, I am certainly looking forward for ‘Drona’, that’s what brings me here.”

In a quick quizzical about Salman, Shah Rukh snapped saying that there was nothing in particular he wanted to talk about and adhered to answering questions about the Bachchans and ‘Drona’.