Shah Rukh "embarrassed" over documentary being made on his life
United News of India
New Delhi, October 19, 2005
Source:
Hindustan Times Homepage
Pic Source:
Glamsham Homepage
Bollywood pasha Shah Rukh Khan, enjoying an iconic status and awash with riches, says it is embarrassing for him that a documentary is being made on his life but he has no say in it.
"They (people) say...You can't be doing this stuff. We don't know that you could be like this. People should know. And I am okay with it. I have no say in it. As a matter of fact, even to talk about this documentary as a commercial prospect is a little embarrassing for me.
"I mean it, I am not selling a film; I'm selling my life, which is a little odd," Shah Rukh, whose film Paheli is an Indian entry for the Oscar nominations this year, told BBC in an interview, which will be aired tomorrow.
The actor of many a potboiler, Shah Rukh is candid enough to point out that one never really knows anyone.
"...To be very honest, and even after this documentary, you won't know who I am. And I am an actor, so it may be even doubly hard to figure out who I am. But I think what it covers, it is a quieter version of me. It's a more internal version of me," he told Tom Brook, the BBC interviewer.
Apparently elated about his film Paheli, the actor says the flick has the most interesting story he has heard in his whole career and it has also all the colours of India.
"...It's a very forward thinking film for women. If you are unhappy in love or in a relationship, are you going to stick to it or are you going to take a choice, even if it happens to be a ghost?"
Shah Rukh says the film has all the colours of India and has all the elements which plague the country or make it so wonderful.
"I feel very nice that it is representative of cinema from our country for the Oscars. Oscars is considered the greatest award for filmmakers, so it would be -- it is something that all of would wish; that we get the Oscar also."
On his gay image, the actor says people call him by different names, including metro sexual who appeals to men and women alike. "I have done a new ad with Lux with women in a bathtub; and they say the guys like it. It is okay. You know, for an actor who is trying...First, I have nothing against anybody's sexuality. It's wonderful if you are what you are, and comfortable with it. I am quite comfortable with mine."
On the money he makes, the actor is honest enough to reveal that "I make enough money to be able to walk into a shop and not have to choose this colour or that colour; I can take them both. And if I can do that, I feel I make a lot of money. But I can't walk into a car store and do that, no; I can't choose two cars. But in most of the stores that I go into, if I like this, then I can take both of them.
"With fame you become a star and with stardom, a lot of self-centredness comes," he points out.
Asked about his endorsing products and the attendant responsibility, Shah Rukh says most of the stuff he is endorsing are an internationally acclaimed brand. "Most of them have been there for years; hundreds of years, eighty years, ninety years. So obviously their risk is much more when they sign me on."
What makes him so appealing with his fans?
"I don't really know; I get surprised myself, I'll be plain honest with you. First I thought I was just plain lucky, but you can't be se lucky for so many years. Then I think God has been kind to me, which is really nice; it can't be my talent, because I know there are more talented people than I am.