King Kaun?

Still the Don of the box office, an unusually reflective Shah Rukh Khan talks about why epitaphs on his career are only part of the script

Quiz shah rukh khan on the image that comes to his mind when someone says Don and there is a moment8217;s silence. A puff later, he says, 8220;If you ask me now, it8217;s the dark glasses, head titled on the side and the cloud of smoke.8221;

Blame it on top of mind awareness but with all due respects to the original Don, New India8217;s average multiplex goer will echo SRK8217;s sentiment. While the purists can harp aloud terms like 8220;over-indulgence8221;, 8220;lack of authenticity8221; and 8220;mutilated copy of the superior original8221;, nobody can deny that Farhan Akhtar8217;s Don Reloaded is taking the box office by storm. Trade guru Amod Mehra says, 8220;Don took a fantastic 85 per cent opening in the pre Diwali days, traditionally not considered good for business. Though the film has dropped in the second week, it8217;s a safe film. Yet another hit to Shah Rukh Khan8217;s name.8221;

The Man in Mannat is delighted. 8220;I feel very thrilled whenever a film does well but this time it8217;s a little bit more than that,8221; he confesses. SRK8217;s latest report card hasn8217;t been very pretty with two big budget blips in Swades and Paheli. And even though Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna KANK earned impressive box office returns, his crabby rendition of Dev Saran earned him scathing public opinion.

Today, he can analyse why his loyal fan base started gunning for him after KANK. 8220;The character of KANK did not fail, the actor did,8221; he confesses with sincerity. He had reservations, he now admits, about the flawed Dev but he felt that he would be able to pull it off. 8220;Maybe I just couldn8217;t portray him right. I8217;ve worked enough to tell the difference between good and bad.8221;

The success of Don is a pointed reminder of the power SRK yields on the box office. The joke in tinsel town is that every month, they write SRK8217;s obit but he manages to resurrect himself. 8220;I8217;m cool with all the debate and talk. This shows that either my films or me is important. And since I8217;m aware of that, I understand that all this will come for a price. So some amount of negativity is to be expected,8221; he philosophises.

But the generosity vanishes when he talks about the biting reviews Don got. 8220;Reviewers can tear the film apart but they can8217;t tell the audience to not to go and watch the film. They can say that the film fell short in various departments but they can8217;t make people8217;s decisions. I mean who are they?8221; he asks.

Considering he harbours such strong sentiments, no wonder then that Don8217;s post release publicity blitz8212;full-page ads screaming, 8220;Don ke critics ki galti yeh hai ki woh Don ke critics hain,8221;8212;has sparked a new controversy. 8220;It8217;s all about having a sense of humour,8221; says SRK. 8220;It8217;s like, if you think my film is not good enough, I think you are not good enough. We are still playing with the brand and this is how Don would have reacted,8221; he laughs.

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SRK admits to being wary when approached for the role. 8220;I didn8217;t want to let the original down,8221; he confesses. But he decided to go for it when his son Aryan condescendingly told him that he wouldn8217;t be able to pull off an action role. 8220;Aryan didn8217;t think my kicks were good enough so I wanted to prove a point,8221; he laughs.

Today when he sees Aryan dancing on his Khaike8230;, he is glad he did the film. As to whether or not the original Don liked it, SRK humbly says, 8220;Well, I think Amitji liked it. He8217;s too much of a gentleman to say anything bad and just said, 8220;Sir, aapne toh achcha kaam kiya,8221; he imitates the famous baritone. So far so good. With the King turning 41 now November 2 was the happy birthday!, SRK wants to consolidate his empire. 8220;I just want to do lots of films. I8217;m feeling healthy so I want to make the most of it. I would like to do a kids8217; film next and maybe a comedy. It8217;s been a while,8221; he says.