The Chopras Send Me Blank Cheques

Why?
I have an issue with space. It’s not about privacy but sentimentality and sensitivity. My friends tell me I’m oversensitive. I get disturbed easily and small things really upset me. Over the years, I’ve realised that I get hurt easily. So, I don’t let many people get close to me.

That’s a revelation.
Yeah, I don’t have many friends. The few people who are close to me make me cry. I’m sure that I make them cry too. I’m not a model friend. I can be there for you when you’re in trouble, but I can’t discuss every thought that I get in my mind with you. I’m kind to people because I’m a kind person.

You use the word kind quite often.
It’s important to be kind. I tell my son to be kind to his sister all the time.

Do you enjoy your role as a parent?
I enjoy my role as a child. I like the freedom to be able to do just anything. I like the facial expressions of Aryan and Suhana. I like their purity and honesty. I have really enjoyed their company.

Mahesh Bhatt says you’re constantly in work mode?
Even Javed Akhtar says that. I think SRK has two modes: Work and Off. I like working.

Are you a workaholic?
Maybe for me workaholism is a disease. But whichever mode I’m in, I tend to exaggerate it.

What is happening to your memoir Twenty Years of a Decade?
It should be done. I haven’t been able to prioritise it. I might even complete it when I’m in New York.

What is the truth about the war between you and the Chopras?
The truth is that people assume too much. I know all the scripts that Adi (Aditya Chopra) is working on. He tells me that this film is not for me and this is right for me. When I was shooting for Paheli, our camera broke down. Adi sent me one before I could even ask.

Apparently, you’re miffed the Chopras don’t pay your market value.
They send me blank cheques. So what price are you talking about? Even Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) refused to take money for Paheli. Such stories belittle their gesture.

What’s your comment on Aamir Khan’s statement that you are the badshah and he the ikka.
Aamir is too close a buddy and too talented a man for me to get upset about his statement. And he is most definitely right when he says that. He has the balls and the guts to do what he wants to and he’s been doing it for a very long time now. Aamir and I constantly joke about each other’s work. If a journalist heard our conversations and comments about each other’s films, it would make for a great controversial and masala copy.

Salman Khan says he’s your best friend.
Yes, I believe that. Only four or five people have known me from the time I came to Mumbai and Salman’s right up there. He and his family have been very kind to me.

Your Lux ad raised a few eyebrows.
Come on, it’s every man’s dream to be in a bathtub surrounded by four beauties. In Hindi films, only villains get that chance.

What’s happening at your production house Red Chillies?
We’ll soon start Farah Khan’s Happy New Year. We should have started by now, but Farah has been busy with her husband Shirish Kunder’s film. We have made a few ads and now we’ll release Nasreen Munni Kabir’s documentaries. The business plan is to make two films a year. In the meantime, we’ll continue with the ads.

Are you going to make us cry again in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna?
(Smiles) I don’t know. The film is relatively different from what Karan has made in the past. He’s nervous about it, which means he’s actually excited.

Which was the last film you saw that you wanted to act in?
Black would have been nice. Though I don’t know which role I would have liked more.

Three things that make you happy?
My kids, presents—as an extension, awards—and a good movie.

What gives you a high as an actor?
It’s the small recognition when people are able to understand the character that you created in the way that you created it.

Harneet Singh