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Shah Rukh Khan: Actors are responsible for hike in ticket prices of films

Shah Rukh Khan spoke on actors being responsible for the hike in the ticket prices at the cinema halls. The actor also shared why he thinks the viewing experience will not die irrespective of different platforms.

shah rukh khan pvr event Shah Rukh Khan spoke on the cinema culture in India. (Photo: APH Images)

Shah Rukh Khan, at one point of time in his life, wanted to own a theater inside a five-star hotel. “I did not want to become an actor but this was the business I dreamed to do,” the actor shared during an event in Delhi on Thursday.

Addressing the media, SRK revealed how he thought he looked “ugly” when he first saw himself on the big screen in the rushes of his film Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992).

“When I saw myself for the first time on screen… and this was for the rushes of Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman in RK Studio, I realised I am so ugly. My hair was so bad! I was doing pathetic acting in front actors Nana Patekar, Amrita Singh and Juhi Chawla (Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman co-stars.) There used to be a flight of Air India back then that offered 25 percent discount on tickets. I used to get those tickets back in the days. In fact, producers too would book tickets that had discounts. I had bought one and went to airport realising that I cannot be an actor. However, Juhi and Aziz convinced me saying ‘Final would be better.’ They lied (laughs.) I never looked better. I kept looking bad,” Shah Rukh said.

Adding, the superstar shared how he feels extreme gratitude for the kind of love that’s been showered on him. “I feel extremely fortunate as people have loved me so much. I remember initially one of the big things for me was that ‘main Dilli wala hoon aur dilwala hoon.’ Everybody here treats me like their own. I have always said I can never feel like a star here. I only come for love here,” he said.

Talking about how actors are responsible for the hike in the ticket prices at the cinema halls, Shah Rukh Khan opined, “This whole onus upon keeping ticket pricing which is rising so fast, obviously some of us stars are also to be blamed, because we keep our ticket prices high when we release them on weekends. Movies have become expensive.”

Shah Rukh, who stepped into the digital space by producing Bard of Blood on Netflix, said despite different OTT platforms, theaters still remain the place to celebrate cinema.

“There are all kinds of platforms that give you a different choice too. But movie theater is the real romance. They are the real celebration (of cinema.) In fact, theaters are a place where a community gets together. There are two things I always tell when someone asks me if cinema/theater is going to prosper and I say, ‘Hum akele ro nahi sakte, hum akele hans nahi sakte’ (we can’t cry alone, you can’t laugh alone). And as long as that is true about humanity, cinema theaters will prosper. The day we can cry or laugh all alone that is the day when theater business will shut. We do need a lot more theaters in the country. Instead of having 3-4 crore people watching cinema, I want the scenario to reach a place when 20-22 million people watch the film when it releases.”

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The Badshaah of Bollywood was in the capital to be a part of the closing of PVR Anupam for renovation. The first movie to get screened there was SRK’s Yes Boss in 1997. Ajay Bijli, Chairman and Managing Director, PVR Ltd revealed the cinema hall will reopen with new and exciting features.

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