His public statements idolising UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi [Images] may have set off speculation of his interest in politics, but Shah Rukh Khan [Images] says his statement was an apolitical one stemming from his admiration for the Congress president. ''When I said Sonia Gandhi is a wonderful person, I said it quite apolitically," SRK [Images] told Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN Devil's Advocate.

''There is an image of her (Sonia) that I'd like to repeat again and again -- on a bus, in an election rally and with children -- a very strong emotion to me as I am attached to the figure of a mother. For me, she is a strong lady, someone you can admire.'' The actor admitted though that his statement, even though said apolitically, may not have been taken as such. ''It is possible that people may not have taken my statement as an apolitical one. After all, my job is vulnerable and dangerous. Still, I'd like to stand by what I said."

Shah Rukh also clarified that his statement had nothing to do with her party being in power. ''It's just that nobody asked me my opinion about her before,'' he said.

On the Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss taking objection to scenes of Shah Rukh smoking a cigarette in his forthcoming film, Don, SRK said, "I will not go to the extent of saying that smoking is artistic in cinema and that is why we are having this problem. However, the larger issue involved here is, today it is smoking in films, tomorrow what?" He went on to say that he believed the Indian masses were literate enough to not start smoking simply because an actor did. "I feel the powers that be should look at bigger health issues than smoking in films,'' he said.

To the Health Minister's appeal to stars like SRK to stop endorsing soft drinks, the superstar said, "I'd like to appeal to any authority that, if cold drinks are harmful, don't allow their production in the country. Similarly, if smoking is bad, do not permit production of cigarettes in the country. My logic is you are not stopping it, despite saying it is harmful, just because it gives the government revenue. Don't stop my revenue. After all, I am an actor. I am supposed to do a job and get revenue from it.''

He admitted he may not be right about smoking himself though, adding that he was trying to cut down on its consumption. At the same time, he said that nobody had a right to tell a person what to do as long as he was not harming someone else.