Shah Rukh Khan — the man and the star

What's the man like behind the glitz and glamour. To find out, watch Revealed: Shah Rukh Khan, writes SUBHADRA DEVAN

DATUK Shah Rukh Khan, known to many Malaysians from Bollywood films since the rom-com Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (with Kajol) in 1998, is the subject of a one-hour expose today. The Discovery Channel exclusive programme Revealed: Shah Rukh Khan, was directed by Samar Khan, a journalist turned film-maker with hit films like Shaurya and Kuchh Meetha Ho Jaaye to his credit.

In a phone interview from Mumbai, Samar says the show took a year of "awful hard work" and that Shah Rukh, whom he had known for some 15 years and whom he calls his good luck charm, took some "convincing" to do it. "We were shooting over 40 days in a year," says Samar, "and he understood the camera could get intrusive at times." It helped of course that the show was co-produced by Shah Rukh's own company, Red Chillies Entertainment. But, "it was completely unadulterated access". Says Samar: "There was no restriction on what we could or could not shoot. And there was no censorship from his side on any of the episodes or anything that we had shot." What were the three most surprising things you discovered about Shah Rukh while working with him, even though you've known him for 15 years? The first thing that surprised me about the man was how he managed his time. He manages to meet so many people in a day. He manages to do work and still find time for his children.

It surprised me that as a human being, he's a very private person. He likes his solitude and to be left alone. He likes to be in quiet places, while outwardly, he seems like an extrovert. He's very personal with his friends and he keeps his friends very limited. He does not make friends very easily. But to be called a friend of Shah Rukh Khan is extremely rare, because he chooses his friends with a lot of care. The third thing was that he just eats the bare minimum. He's so nonchalant about the kind of car he drives or the food he's eating or the fact that he's staying in a hotel. He really doesn't care about these things. What does he eat? He himself says in the documentary that he has the most unhealthy eating habits. His diet contains protein, which is chicken. He only eats chicken. Caffeine, because he only drinks coffee — about 10 cups a day — and nicotine, because he smokes a lot. So his diet is caffeine, nicotine and protein.

Are you going to show his weaknesses as a human being or as an actor? Is this going to be a documentary where you glorify him as an actor and which doesn't show a balanced picture? I don't think we have tried to show Shah Rukh as a perfect human being. He has frailties. He has shortcomings in his life, and as an actor. We have tried to show his life. So the documentary is not a judgment of him. He's spoken about his insecurities and shortcomings as an actor, as a human being and as a father. We've tried to present a balanced picture and not just the actor or the star.

What were the biggest challenges in putting this documentary together? The challenge was to remain as objective as possible.

You do like him, so how did you remain objective? I think we all like him. But my job as a director was to be as objective as possible. It helps because I have a journalist background. Revealed: Shah Rukh Khan presents the changing face of India from 1990s. There is no part of the world that have not heard about Bollywood or Shah Rukh Khan. He represents in a way, the success story that India is, post-1990s. Why do you think Shah Rukh is so popular in India and the rest of the world. What is it about him that appeals the most? Actually, you'll have to see the documentary (for that answer). There are so many factors, which has come together for this. That's what we'll reveal — to tell the world why this man is so successful. Once you see the documentary, you will be able... to analyse the success of Shah Rukh Khan. The series, Living With A Superstar, explores what you call Shahrukhisms, which are basically his philosophies on life. Can you share some of these with us? He believes in loyalty and in standing by people who have believed in him. He goes out of his way to help them. He's somebody who does so from his heart. He does not do things from the brain. Even if it does not make logical sense, he will do it because his heart tells him to. He's a very fond believer in destiny. (Living With A Superstar is a 10-part series premiering on Discovery Travel And Living after July, which offers an intimate glimpse into the day-to-day life of SRK over the course of a year.) What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about Shah Rukh Khan? A lot of people think he is very arrogant and expect him to be very brash. I don't think he's arrogant. He's just the way he is. Even if he was not successful, he would still be the same way because that's his personality. Why do you think India's entertainment industry in general is attracting global audiences? I think India's entertainment industry is very unique in its storytelling. And our emotions are the mainstay of our stories. We tell stories with deep human emotions and deep human emotions cut across all countries and languages. People are able to associate with these emotions. So I guess that's one of the main reasons why people connect with Indian cinema and Indian films and also because there are Indians all over the world.

So, if you want to find out about the man behind the glitz and glamour, watch the one-hour special, Revealed: Shah Rukh Khan, today over Discovery Channel (Astro 551) at 10pm, with repeats tomorrow 1am, 9am and 3pm, and on April 25 at 5am and 9am.

Samar (centre) with Shah Rukh and crew member Raj Gopalakrishnan  Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20100417215342/Article/index_html