We’ve become tougher now: Shah Rukh

Calcutta: Shah Rukh Khan was absolutely overjoyed with the Kolkata Knight Riders’ emphatic performance against the Delhi DareDevils on Tuesday. Later, the Knight Riders’ owner briefly spoke to The Telegraph.

Shah Rukh, incidentally, will be back in Mumbai early on Wednesday to continue with his TV show shoots and prepare for a new film.

The following are excerpts from the one-on-one:

The following are excerpts

On the Knight Riders’ superb win on Tuesday

(Laughs) We’ve been having some tough games and they’re making the team tougher! At the end of the match, John (Buchanan, coach) asked ‘how did we do it?’ Indeed… We bowled beautifully and fielded so well… The two run outs made the difference.

Having got very emotional

Because the boys played so well and because the Eden crowd has been supporting us in such a big way… That’s why I bow to the crowd after each match… It’s my way of thanking them…

His remarkable connect with the fans here

They probably like me because I’m humble… At the Eden, I’m Shah Rukh Khan… I’m not putting on an act.

MoM Shoaib Akhtar’s performance

I’d been very disappointed when Shoaib wasn’t allowed to play till last week… He’d been our first buy at the February 20 IPL auction and was probably the first buy for any team… I don’t want to get into the rules but I’d been extremely disappointed… I’d been very keen to have a photograph taken at the Eden with everybody in it… Ricky Ponting, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Shoaib… That didn’t work out…

His dream of Shoaib taking three wickets in his first over remaining unfulfilled

But I amended that to three in his first three… Shoaib, in fact, did better… Four in the first three! As I’ve said, I’m very happy as he’s become the most liked player around… People would say he’s a budtameez and so on, but he’s not that… He’s shown what he’s capable of.

Whether Shoaib’s comeback script would match anything from the world of films

Reality is always different…

Shoaib opening with Ishant Sharma

(Smiles) That’s one dream which has been realised… I wanted them to bowl together… That has happened at the Eden.

Finally, whether captain Sourav Ganguly should again be considered for the ODIs

Look, my involvement with cricket starts and ends with the Knight Riders… I really don’t know much about other things and wouldn’t like to comment.

The Telegraph - Calcutta

"I dont have the time to write blogs" : Khan

Its four in the afternoon and Shah Rukh Khan is on the sets of Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? The clock is running. The audiences are in their seats and minutes before “Action,” SRK is playing basketball with the five kids from the show.

Siddharth Basu walks in, with some last- minute instructions for the bacchas, who listen intently.

Shortly after, the group takes their places under the lights. An hour later, they break shoot and we head to SRK’s make-up room.

He tucks into his dabba from home. In between morsels of lunch (at 5 in the evening) he talks about his show, its low ratings, Amitabh Bachchan’s digs and more. Read on.

Do you miss KBC?
I don’t get emotionally attached to my work. I do it to the best of my capability and then, I move on. I am not into nostalgia.

You seem to be enjoying Paanchvi Pass more...
Yes, I am. I like this format. KBC was too restrictive. After a while, it was taxing to make it entertaining. Paanchvi Pass is fun but we don’t shoot more than two episodes a day because the kids get tired. Internationally, Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader was much bigger than Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

You already have your first millionaire on the show!
Yes, a lady has won a crore on the show. Two other guys reached that amount but walked away with 50 lakh.

The questions are hard, no?
You and I may find it hard but the kids know the answers. I get about 60 per cent of the answers on the show right but when I go home and ask the questions to my son Aryan, he gets 80 per cent of them right. And there is a reference point, you know where the questions are coming from — class one to class five, so one can prepare oneself.

Amitabh has commented on the low ratings of Paanchvi Pass. Comment.
Yes, I heard about the blog and later, I read it. Mr Bachchan is a huge superstar and normally he is quite reticent and you don’t get to know the views of such people.

It’s nice that he’s blogging now and one gets to know his thoughts and his views on one’s work. But I did not understand the graph on his blog. I don’t understand graphs. I don’t think most people do. I don’t understand TAM, FAM and MAM. I don’t keep track of these technical things.

Have you ever thought of blogging?
No, for three reasons. One, when I type, I do so in caps and on the net, that’s like screaming. Two, because when I write, I write very long copy. And three, I am a very busy man, I don’t have time to write long blogs… also, my colleagues say that they blog because the media writes a lot of things and they want to put their version out there.

So, in short, you end up doing the journalist’s job. In my mind, it’s very clear I am an actor and not a reporter, so I will do my job, and I will let them do theirs. If they write something that’s wrong, I’ll abuse that person and say they got their facts wrong. If they get it right, then I’ll say ‘great, they represented the facts well’.

Your reaction to comparisons between KBC and PP?
I don’t know why comparisons should be drawn between my shows and shows done by other stars. I don’t compare myself to others’ shows. I will compare my ratings to the ratings of my last show. And if Paanchvi Pass has not done well, I accept responsibility.

I’ll take 60 per cent of the blame. If I take credit for the success of my films and my shows, I also accept the brickbats when things go wrong. I don’t need anyone to tell me that my show is not doing well. I am well aware of the facts.

Any theories on why Paanchvi Pass hasn’t got the desired TRPs?
Yes. I don’t think that it’s possible to get the ratings that the first KBC got, or even what the popular saas-bahu soaps were getting at one time. Firstly, because at the time, there weren’t so many channels. Secondly, the IPL has bitten into a large chunk of the audiences.

The other day, I saw Gauri’s mom watching the match with some of her friends, and I thought, ‘That’s sweet, they are watching it because Kolkata is playing.’ But after a few days, I saw them watching the match again, they had all gathered specifically to see the match and my team wasn’t even playing. And these are not the usual cricket fans.

Even Gauri is now going to see all our matches, even the ones that I cannot go to because of my other commitments. Before this, she used to hate cricket and she would never even watch a match at home. The T20 format has clicked. It’s no longer just a game, it has become a social event.

Your thoughts on barbs about low TRPs?
If someone says that my show is a flop, I will work harder. If someone says my show is a hit, I will still work harder, so it doesn’t matter what anyone says. I will continue to work like I always do.

And finally, do you think the ratings of Paanchvi Pass will pick up after IPL ends?
Absolutely. It will pick up for sure. I will take a break shortly and then come back from my holiday and shoot more episodes. Things will have changed by then. If not, we will work harder and ensure they do.

Sarita Tanwar, Mid-Day