Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan is always on the move and doesn’t like to stop. His close friend once told us that he has many parallel tracks running in his head simultaneously, planning film shoots, meetings, endorsements, working on creative ideas, scripts and so on.
He has just returned from a world concert SLAM, dancing for his fans overseas, taking pictures and spending time with them backstage as if for that moment he is handing over the remote in their hands to control him the way they wish. On his return to Mumbai, we caught up with him at his Red Chillies office.
Dressed in blue faded jeans teamed with a brown casual shirt on top of a white T-shirt, and a bandana, Shah Rukh looked anything but tired. There is a sense of calm in his cabin,unhindered by the noise and the number of people running around working for this brand that he has created.
We ask him, when was the last time he stopped and asked himself: ‘how do I manage to do so many things?’ He turns his thoughts inwards and in a second quips, “If you stop to ask then you can’t do so many things together. There is no stopping. I am not time-bound, neither does time bind me, I am very clear on that,”
The walls in his office tell us his stories. On the way up to his large cabin, in which the IPL trophy finds a prominent spot, we saw a full length picture of Shah Rukh with the caption, ‘This city is afraid of me, I have seen its true colours’.
Flashing that honest smile with those dimples we see on the big screen, he recalls, “All those pictures are sent by fans. When the office was made, I told them please put them here. It must be an expression of an artist who has decided and thinks this is what is true of me. I don’t think anyone should be afraid of me. Someone crafted a beautiful Devdas in bronze, must be 30-40 kgs, so I have put all of them here.”
While the world drools over those dimples, the way he spreads his arms or his iconic dialogues, King Khan has gone a step ahead and applied to Trade Marks Registry to officially put a stamp on his brand name. The process which started over two years ago has finally gained some momentum; few of the names he had applied for have been approved in select categories.
Shah Rukh told us at the beginning of the chat that he doesn’t get into the periphery of things and trusts his team to tell him what to do. Karuna Badwal, Shah Rukh’s business manager and a co-producer of Happy New Year, joins the conversation to share details. “We have both Shah Rukh Khan and SRK copyright applied in all categories. It’s a huge process but in some categories, we have got the copyright. From consumer point of view, you can’t be misled or misused,” she says.
Shah Rukh, in a humble tone now leads the conversation, “We have sent few legal notices in some cases, in small towns there are things like SRK acting school. So we have at least a control over that and people are not misled.” Shahrocks, a digital character, created by the company is also a trademark, which is yet to be unveiled to the world.
Within the glass walls of Red Chillies a huge number of people are working on innovations that can be brought in the movie-making business. One such thing is the VFX, which Shah Rukh has brought into the industry and the office lends itself to any filmmaker who has a vision. Shah Rukh’s next, Happy New Year, boasts of never seen before VFX; a heist film mounted on a huge scale.
Shah Rukh says “It’s my duty and I can’t call people for 4-5 hours to watch a film and let them down on visual impact.” Offering a set-up that can create anyone’s vision into reality, he continues, “I wanted to make the filmmakers’ dream come true — if you have a shot in mind and you can’t go to the real place, ok we will make it here. You have a vision; we can enhance it and give it wings. The big picture experience is very important.”
He is also a generous producer and admits he got the same love from other producers while working for them. While shooting for Chennai Express, Red Chillies had two choppers as stand by to facilitate easy transport. Putting some logic to this he admits, “If I have the option to use a chopper why can’t other people from the production also have the same option?”
While the world is running after him, the question remains — what is Shah Rukh after? It’s spending time with his kids which he barely gets to do. It’s past midnight into this conversation and one can see why his work barely gives him time with his children — Aryan, Suhana and AbRam.
Like any other parent, he regrets not being with them at times. “When I come back home late, like today I will miss that, so I will make that call and wish them good night, but otherwise I like to spend few hours with them. I don’t like to take away the time I get with my kids, because I get very little. If have a day off, I will work out in the morning, and the rule is when I am in the house, I don’t do any office work, don’t take calls.”
Another member of SRK entourage asks him whether he can get him something to eat. “No, I will go back to Mannat and work out in the gym,” replies Shah Rukh promptly.
It’s few hours away from sunrise and we are in the lift that brings us back to the ground floor. Looking at his picture on the poster of HNY from the outside, brand SRK now appears much larger.
