I’m Not Sure it’s Readable

• And your back?
The back’s good. It’s given me a lot of trouble but it’s been holding up well for the last 10 days. I have three doctors looking at me and I do take lots of care. I think my body has accepted that however much pain we give him, he won’t stop working.

• But isn’t that foolhardy? Must you do a Mahi Ve? Can’t you just act, not dance?
Either I shouldn’t be shooting and if I am then I will do my bit to make my film immortal. That’s what Gauri says, either you don’t work and if you do then do your best. I have a 40 feet jump in Main Hoon Na. If I don’t do it then I’ll feel that I’m cheating my audience. So I’ll do a Mahi Ve always.

• There are rumours that because of your back, you aren’t doing Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Swades.
It’s very unfortunate that some stupid people will say all kind of stupid stuff. I begin shooting for the film in January.

• Will you take a break?
After Swades I’ll take six months off. I have to undergo physiotherapy.

• What’s happening with the memoirs that you are currently penning?
It will be complete by January-February. The only secret about it is its title and I’ll tell you that. It’s called, Twenty Years of a Decade. I am not even sure it’s readable. It’s a very simple book.

• Is it true that you never used to drink water and only had Pepsi?
Now I drink Aquafina because my doctors have told me that I need to have 8 oz water every day, which equals about eight small bottles. But yeah, I’d completely given up water and used to have 20 cans of Pepsi a day.

• Is there really a war with Aishwarya Rai?
There’s no war from my side, it’s just that we aren’t working together now. I took a stand as a producer and I’ve already apologised for that. But she has her point of view, I guess.

• What about Salman Khan? Are the two of you still friends?

I’ve been very close to Salman and his family but somewhere down the line, we lost the discipline in our relationship. It’s really sad. He’s a great guy and in spite of all the little troubles that he’s got into, I wish him well. But to be honest, I do share a certain awkwardness with him. I think we both are a little shy of each other and feel a bit odd with all that we’ve gone through. But give us some time.

• They’ve named an orchid after you in Singapore. How does that make you feel?
I think it’s very sweet. Initially, I felt it was a little girlie but apparently, it’s a huge honour in Singapore. I’d never seen an orchid before and I bought it home for my daughter. They’ve called it Ascocenda Shah Rukh Khan. Now you can buy me at a rose shop.

• Your hair has started looking really good. What have you done?
I think it’s a stronger gel. When I came into films, everyone made fun of my hair but lately it’s improved. But it’s only in films. Personally, I have a bad hair day all my life.

• Do you still think I’m the best?
Oh yeah, every morning I need to say that to myself so that I can do my best. But people need to realise that this is a humble statement of a very complicated and insecure actor. Remember that those who are really good, won’t ever say something like this. But I guess, it’ll always be taken against me so the best thing is to keep up to it. I’m the best.