SRK Shoots from the lip!

This is a man needing no introduction. A master at re-inventing himself, SRK stays as relevant at 43 as he did when he started out in Bollywood. Here, he shares his thoughts with Masala! on turning 43, starring opposite younger actresses, and forgiving and forgetting...

You are celebrating your 43rd birthday, but you seem like you’re still 25. What’s the secret behind your youthfulness? 

[Laughs] Thank you for this wonderful comment! I did workout a lot for two or three months when I had to shoot for "Dard-e-Disco", but normally I don’t have a fixed fitness regime. But I would like to share one secret, which is that good thoughts keep a person healthy and happy. If you cannot think well about someone, at least don’t think badly about them. I like to keep working, and let the work speak for itself. Right now I am working on "Rab Ne...", then I’ll work for IPL on endorsements and live shows. I take time out to play with my kids. My age reflects in my hair though, as it’s grey and I dye it. But good thoughts keep me fit!

Did you plan to start off the publicity campaign for "Rab Ne..." on your birthday? 

"Rab Ne..." is a very special film for me. Adi (Aditya Chopra) is making a film after a long gap, and hence it is very close to my heart. In fact, the promos of the film were to start airing at the end of October. But then I got a call from Adi saying the campaign had been stalled and he wanted to start it again on my birthday (November 2). The movie is a very special birthday gift for me. As an actor, I love that I can present something really good to the audience on my birthday.

Can you tell us something about the film? 

Normally Adi doesn’t like it when I talk about the film, as he feels that I make it sound very boring. But I would like to say that it is very funny and entertaining. And it is a Yashraj Film, so obviously it will have some ‘Yashrajpan’ in the film too. People always wanted to imitate my earlier characters – like Raj, Rahul, Om etc. But in real life, we are all very simple people. The "Rab Ne..." character I play is someone people would not imitate, because this person is a real individual. 

What was it like working with a young heroine like Anushkha for this film?

My dear friend, it is such that all the heroines in all my films are younger. It can’t be helped; I can’t find a heroine who is older! I have worked with 22 newcomers in my career. Priyanka was new when I started "Don" and then Deepika, all the "Chak De girls", and now Anushkha. It is God’s grace that I get a chance to work with such young and beautiful girls! After acting non-stop for 18 years, you tend to develop a particular pattern. So instead of forcing my co-stars to follow my pattern, I try and act and react like them. That way, I have improved on my performance too.

You have many fans aspiring to be like you. How does that feel?

I think that when you look at other people’s lives from the outside, you always think they have it good. But the thing is, we are all human beings. We all eat the same food and go to work in the morning. My life is a little different now that I am 43, I have to apply make-up before going out! But I have everything that I could have ever wished for. Now I only wish for good health for everyone else.

It is very endearing to hear you wish for the good health of others. Do you mean it?

Recently I met Richard Gere and I asked him ‘how are your kids?’ He replied saying ‘they are healthy!’ I was taken aback, and I asked him why he said that as normally we say they are fine or naughty etc. He told me that whenever you get a chance to wish anything for anyone, let it be good health.

How have you faced the ups and downs in your life?

I am lucky in a way because there have been no downward trends in my life, and I am actually scared about that! But nothing has changed for me. I shoot in the same way I used to. In fact, the other day, Adi and I were having a chat about the filming of "Dilwale". We decided there’s been no change in the way we shot "Dilwale" and the way we are shooting "Rab Ne..."

Salman is now speaking out about your fight. Will you?

I don’t wish to comment on what he has said. I know he must have said this in an interview meant for something else, and then someone must have asked him about it (the fight). Perhaps the only good thing to come out of the tiff between us, is that we both have realised that we are two very different people – he is wonderful in his place and I am wonderful in mine. I don’t like to play golf, but he does. We are not friends. I’ve reached a stage in my life where I can’t not forgive someone… where I can’t not forget what someone may have done to me. I don’t hold anything against anyone.