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Why Shah Rukh likes being a flawed actor
Devdas is not the Khan's best performance
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Subhash K Jha
Although he hates to admit it, the spectacular success of Devdas has rejuvenated Shah Rukh Khan. Barring the star-studded Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, his last few films, including the ambitious Asoka floundered at the BO.
Congratulatory calls and wishes for Devdas are flowing into Khans' Mumbai residence, Mannat. Flashing his trademark dimples, SRK says, "I am glad they (audience) liked me in the film. I knew Dilip Kumar had already done Devdas to perfection. Someone had already done the base work for me. I just hoped not to denigrate what Dilip saab had done.
"To me the greatest achievement is that I haven't belittled Dililp saab’s performance. Everyone cannot like the film. You cannot force anyone to like it. Journalists have a column to write. I believe to know acting you have to be an actor. To know what a writer writes, I will have to be reborn as a journalist. Unfortunately, critics and film analysts in this country cannot differentiate between characterisation and performance."
Khan says he enjoys the uncertainty of an erratic performance more than a smooth all-systems-go portrayal. "I enjoy being an actor who can go wrong. I like being a flawed actor. It is very exciting. I like the jerkiness in my performances. I hate flawlessness. I want people to get uncomfortable watching my performances. There are so many sequences in Devdas, like the one where my faithful Man Friday (Dharamdas, played by Tiku Talsania) comes to inform me about my father's death and I don't know what I am doing."
Recalling the time when the actor had to stay balanced in a traditional dhoti, Khan confesses he didn't wear the apparel all the time. "I didn't like it. I felt very uncomfortable in it. I used to constantly take it off. In my closeups I didn’t wear it at all. I did them in my jeans and kurta. It was very windy on the sets and my dhoti would invariably keep flying off. Besides, I also had my son clinging to me on the sets . The dhoti made me physically careless. It made me feel flabby."
Reacting sharply to the criticism that Shah Rukh Khan the star peeps out of Devdas' character, Khan retorts, "Bimal Roy's Devdas worked because it was Dilip Kumar playing the character. And that is a compliment to him. Who are we trying to fool? Even the biggest actors in the world are stylised --- Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Dilip Kumar, Balraj Sahni, Uttam Kumar, Utpal Dutt, Nana Patekar, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajesh Khanna --- they all had a style. And you cannot take it away from them. It is wrong to try to take away that style.
"I want to remind people that for 11 years I have been Shah Rukh Khan. When people tell me they didn't see Shah Rukh in Devdas, I wonder what I got paid for! Sanjay Bhansali might as well have taken someone else. We are making commercial films. Making contact with the audience is essential."
Analysing the huge success of Devdas, Khan explains, "If we select the five main attractions of the film, it would be Sanjay Leela Bhansali's direction, the financial resources, the visuals, costumes and the performances. These five assets are fighting for the top honours. Who likes which aspect is entirely subjective."
Is Devdas SRK's best? Khan shrugs, "If I accept that I might as well retire today. The next one will be the best." As for the popular awards which Khan is expected to sweep , he shrugs again. "If they don't give the award it is their loss. If they do, I'll give it the respect it deserves."