Shah Rukh Khan - Interview

He's Bollywood's latest obsession – the badshah of Bollywood, the king of tinsel town. For a decade and a half, Shah Rukh Khan's been ruling the roost in the film industry. You'd think age would come with decline. But post-40, SRK's popularity only seems to be increasing, as are his fortunes. The year 2007 was especially good for King Khan – both Chak De! India and Om Shanti Om collected mind-boggling amounts. There's another thing that keeps Shah Rukh much above the rest – sharp business acumen. SRK's Red Chilies made a killing on Om Shanti Om and he used visible platforms to promote the film, even drawing flak for it. Nevertheless, the marketing earned the desired results. Now, King Khan is line producing another film My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves. A chat with the actor at the music release of the film:How come you attended the music release of a film with no significant cast? I come here to check if the newcomers are better than me. If they are, I have to work harder. If not, I'll just go away happy ( laughs). Seriously speaking, I came because a lot of close friends are involved in the project. It's a very talented team and I am here to convey my best wishes. It's a good film and I am sure it will do well. I hope it turns out to be the biggest hit of the year because of my favorite Mithun Chakraborty, who has inspired a lot of people like me to do better. So, you're a fan of Mithun Chakraborty…I have been his fan since childhood, ever since I saw Mriguya. I am a fan of Gunmaster G9. It was my dream to work with him but by the time I entered the film industry, he had launched his hotel and moved to Ooty. He doesn't know that the first film shooting I saw was at Juhu Circle from 9 pm to 2 am when he came, gave his shot and left. I am grateful to him for doing a song sequence in OSO. He is a wonderful actor and has that star quality. We hear the hero in My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves, Nikhil Dwivedi, resembles you… I don't think any actor can resemble me. Who has six-pack abs like mine? (laughs) On a serious note, I don't think it's fair to compare actors. Everyone has his own identity. When Mithun came in, he started with Mriguya and went on to do James Bond-type roles and Gunmaster G9. I can assure you there are people better than him, taller than him and better looking than him but they will never be Mithun. He's carved his own niche. About Nikhil, he will go through five stages. First is when people will ask – 'Who is Nikhil Dwivedi?' Second when they will say 'Get me Nikhil Dwivedi'. The third stage is when they will say 'Get me a Nikhil Dwivedi type' and the fourth stage – which I am in right now – is when they will say 'Get me a younger Nikhil Dwivedi'. And the last stage is again when the say 'Who is Nikhil Dwivedi?'. The film also stars Amrita Rao… I call her the 'little sweetheart'. She is small in size but big in stature. A great actress, a great dancer. My Name is Anthony Gonsalves is a strange name for a movie… I think it's a brilliant title. It has lyricism like the old song. There is a bit of naughtiness too. When E Niwas told me about the title I liked it very much and I was hoping that the film isn't made and I could use the title for my own production. But they worked hard and made the film. ( laughs) Wouldn't that make people think of Amitabh Bachchan? Obviously, it would remind you of him and not Om Prakash. Lots of titles are used from songs but I think this is a tribute to Amitabh in a certain sense. This film is very different and as far as I know it is like Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. There is a sweet, poignant sensibility to it. You are the line producer of the movie. What made you do it? When Sahara, E Niwas and T-Series decided they wanted to make the film, they told me. Since they are close friends, I decided to get involved. They are new to production, so our team helped in line producing the film. Whatever guidance we could give them, we gave and we also learnt a lot in the process. Right now films don't need big budgets but good talent and hard work. My company also learnt from E Niwas how to make a wonderful film without spending too much money.