Shah Rukh Khan: I play with my children’s toys as I didn’t have any when I was a kid

First failure
I remember running a 100-metre race in school (at St Columba’s, Delhi), against boys who were a little older than me. Till that point, I’d been running with boys my age and I was used to being in the lead. In that race, though, I came fifth out of six or seven boys. As soon as the race was over, the school officials rushed over to the winners and whisked them off to the podium. There were people around, but no one came to me. It was the emptiest feeling.

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Difference between failure and success
The only difference is that success comes with confetti and streamers; failure is that corner you go back to. You deal with it, and then you wake up and start all over again. It’s a process of emotional detoxification. Failure is something you face alone. Success has a lot of masters, friends, and well-wishers. But failure is lonely. Still, it’s just as textured as a success.

Also read | Shah Rukh Khan takes AbRam on a long drive, and Mumbai comes to a standstill. Watch video

Failure feels like crap, but still is inevitable
If you fail repeatedly at something, it can tell you that perhaps you’re not cut out for it. It can make you look at a situation more carefully, so you avoid repeating certain mistakes. It strips you of arrogance and can shake you out of your complacency. It can make you more humble and focused. But I think we say these things to make ourselves feel better, because the truth is, failure feels like crap. But it’s also inevitable.

I play with my kids’ toys as I never had any during my childhood
I’m 51. I lost my dad when I was 14 or 15, and my mother when I was 25. That void never gets filled. If you lose your parents too early, you have to grow up too fast. You can’t play with toys, you have to start playing in the real world. I play with my children’s toys now. People find it odd and think perhaps I’m just a good father, but that’s not true. I’m just a father who didn’t have toys.

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Shah Rukh Khan’s adorable son AbRam. See Pic

His take on social media
As far as social media is concerned, I find it very distasteful when people bring your family into it. I tweeted recently about Sunny Leone’s song in my film Raees, and I’ve got these disgusting comments about my daughter. Sometimes, I want to create an app that tracks down the people who tweet to me. I’d like to do a Liam Neeson from Taken: “I’ll find them and I’ll fix ’em.”