I’m a fan of my children, says Shah Rukh Khan

King Khan is India’s undisputed alpha movie star. There was a time when Shah Rukh Khan, like most people, would enter a hotel through the front door, but that hasn’t happened for the best part of 20 years. Just spread the news of him coming to an event, a certain place, or an engagement and see how magically people turn into bees around a beehive. To promote his forthcoming movie Fan, Khan was in the capital doing what he does best — being charming, funny, sexy and royally late. He walks over to greet the crowd courteously and reflects his attentive and earnest mannerism.

Khan plays a Shah Rukh-like superstar, Aryan Khanna, as well as his super-fan and obsessive look-alike, Gaurav in the Yash Raj Films production that is directed by Maneesh Sharma of Band Baaja Baaraat and Shuddh Desi Romance fame. From the trailer, the movie looks considerably darker than anything that the heartthrob has ever done in the last few years. “Gaurav is not like the character that I played in Darr who bordered on the psychopathic route. He isn’t like that. He is exactly like someone who is around 24-25 of age when one never realises the magnitude of the good or the bad that they’re doing. Life at that age is based on instinct, love, just being. You don’t even realise how much life will change with your decisions because you’re too much of a believer. So I think Gaurav is based on a 24-year-old kid who doesn’t know what he’s doing, not because he’s stupid but because he is in a yeh toh theek hai na, yaar zone,” explains the actor.

People are assuming that the star figure he is playing is, in effect, Shah Rukh Khan. But SRK differs, “It’s quite fictional. I’m not like that star. Aryan is not Shah Rukh, he’s more seasoned, more practical, more held back. Even in private life, he’s not like me. The flamboyance is also missing.”

He adds, “We were very clear that we were not going to derive out of my life and put it there.”

With his two releases this year, Fan and Raees, exploring darker territories than his last few films, is SRK consciously exploring riskier projects “I would like to emphasise that don’t cull out any logic behind what I do and what I will do in the future. I signed Fan way before I did Dilwale. Projects and their timings are certainly not in my hands. I’ve said this often enough, but people don’t believe me — they say he’s shifting gears. One has to understand that the films that are coming out now were signed two years ago. Raees was just a story I liked — it’s my Carlito’s Way, my Scarface, my take on the bootlegger film. Fan also just happened, as did Gauri Shinde’s film. It’s just the state of mind I’m in when I sign a film.”

Social media savvy Talking about how the line is blurring between fans and superstars courtesy the social media, the actor says, “As the world is progressing and dealing with technology, somewhere down the line, there is no hierarchy left. Everyone’s living in a horizontal world. What you ought to do through the social media is to manage your work, dignity, talent and project yourself as ‘equal amongst equals’. One doesn’t have to show any flamboyance to stand out. Stars should make you feel that they are a little more special than you are in the field of entertainment, which is their area of expertise. But just because they are movie stars, they shouldn’t be treated any differently. I like interacting with one and all through the medium, it is hierarchy-less and I enjoy it.”

SRK biopic 2016 will see a series of biopics, from Dhoni’s to Masterblaster’s and more. When quizzed the actor, if at all in future, a biopic on his life would be proposed, who would he want to see playing the lead “I’ll ask Sachin Tendulkar to play my role,” laughs the actor only to quickly deny it later. “Just kidding. I meant, I don’t know. To start with, I am not sure if my life has been colourful enough to be made into a cinematic biopic. And I am never in a self-aggrandisement mode to dictate anyone on who shall be ideal to play a role, how the movie should look like, etc. Though AbRam and Aryan could be a good choice.”

Stardom and fans “Stardom for me is when an individual or a star or an artist is able to invoke a certain strange sense of respect and diginity and love from people wherein the whole world around them just go hushed and silent when they enter a room or walk into a hotel. I grew up in the era of Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan and I have been fortunate to know both of them. They are the real stars and carry an aura that I feel that I lack,” says the actor.

Lastly, SRK who has a roaring fan following admits that he is a huge fan of someone. “Hands down, it’s got to be my kids. I am a huge fan of my children. Their love is something that is unconditional and pure.”