SRK: We never thought we'd make Don 2

Shah Rukh Khan waited till the year-end before he appeared on screen and now, there's no stopping him.

His highly stylised Don 2 opens this Friday after the much talked-about film of the year, Ra.One, but the actor is determined to take measured steps as far as its promotions are concerned.

He's acutely aware of the marketing overkill that Ra.One became.

In an interview with Omar Qureshi of Zoom TV, Shah Rukh looks back at his superhero film and what's in store for Don 2.

You have done back-to-back action movies, Ra.One and Don 2. That will be followed by a love story (to be directed by Yash Chopra). Is that deliberate?

Ra.One is more of a superhero film; it's a different kind of action while Don 2 is grittier, fast, leaner and meaner kind of film.

There were plans for other films too in between but they fell through so it's not deliberate. I felt like doing Ra.One because I had recovered from the injury and wanted to do it. As a matter of fact, Don got delayed by a year because of my injury. It should have happened earlier.

But there is no deliberation in terms of this is how it should be. Now I do feel like doing a romantic film. Maybe earlier I didn't.

Both Ra.One and Don 2 are very close to my heart.

You are known as the king of romance and now you've done two movies that are not romantic movies.

First of all, I find it strange. A movie is a movie. Chak De! India wasn't a romantic movie, I think even Om Shanti Om wasn't a romantic film. For that matter, a lot of films that I have done are not at all romantic.

Even Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi wasn't like a romantic film. I think the last romantic film I did was Veer Zaara or Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

I wanted to do a few films that my kids would like. My son is 14 so he likes action more than romance. My daughter finds it odd if I sing songs. They are new gen kids so I think they kind of like me in roles that are funnier, sweeter, or want to see me perform action scenes.

But I feel refreshed going back to a romantic film. After a beard and long hair, being nice and sweet and telling a girl, looking deep into her eyes, that I love her is great too.

Until Don 2, the most anticipated film of the year was Ra.One. Are you happy with the feedback you got and with what it achieved at the box office?

No, I am very unhappy with the reviews it got. I think they sucked. I have been told that people did not like the fact that I marketed the film so much.

As far as the business part of it is concerned, it has done great business. My partners have made a lot of money. I made money. That is good and it should as it helps me plan other films like that and take the genre forward.

But as far as feedback from the young ones is concerned, the kids loved it. I think there were too many people judging the film and it is not nice.

There was this gentleman who wrote in his review that Shah Rukh is going through a mid-life crisis. I do not think they have the guts to say it on my face.

There has been a lot of criticism within the industry also...

I think I run my race as an outsider. I don't really have too many people that I sit and chat with. I just do my work, get back home and spend time with my kids. So, in a certain sense, I am still an outsider. I have been making films for 20 years now.

Everyone has something to say about a film. It is an opinion, everyone has, and I would not say I respect or disrespect it. It is there in the air, like you have virus in the air.

Planning a sequel to Ra.One?

I would like to. Insha Allah, yes. I have a big VFX unit, which I personally believe is the best in this country or even in Asia. We, the Red Chillies VFX, have worked very hard at it for nine years. I do not want it to be wasted.

I have always made films that I strongly believe in, whether as an actor or as a producer. And what I want to do is, take that stuff forward and say that we need to have the technology in India. If I don't do it, after having invested so much time in it and so much passion in it, then nobody else will.

Why did the Don sequel take so long?

It got delayed a year because of my injury. We never really thought we'd make a part 2.

Will there be more Dons?

Yeah, if this one's liked!

It's not got so many trappings of a regular commercial film. Its music is different and it's like a thriller genre.

It's very hip and cool so if it is liked it would give us a lot of impetus.

All of us in the Don 2 team enjoy the fact that Don is so cool! There is a lot of love and we have a lot of fun on the sets. I've told all of them that whenever we feel like having a break from our usual humdrum lives we would quickly make part 3 part and 4 (smiles).

You are working with two beauty queens at the same time -- Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra. They won their crowns in the same year and now they are in the same film with you.

Yeah! It's really outstanding. We chatted about that the night Lara and Priyanka had come down to Berlin. I had crowned them actually!

We just sat and chatted about that because strangely I haven't really worked with them so much. It's very ironic and weird that I never got to work with them and we are meeting after 10 years since that happened so it was quite nostalgic. Lara showed me the picture of that day too. 

So we had a great time talking. I feel very close to them.

Farhan Akhtar is back as a director after a very long time. Has being in front of the camera changed him as a director?

A little bit I think. Because Farhan has always been someone who is very earnest about what he does. Let me just put across the fact that he is one of the most talented people -- he can act, sing, dance, write, do dialogues, produce, direct. Everything!

When he has now experienced all of it firsthand, it makes him someone who understands every part of the job. So yes, I think it has made a lot of difference.

Has Hrithik done a cameo in the film?

Yes, he has a sequence in the film. Let's see how it turns out. We don't know if it's going to be in the film or not. So I have to see the final edit and find out.

You have been spending a lot more time with your family too. Bike riding with your daughter, reading with your son, so are you enjoying that little more free time away?

Yeah, I find myself becoming a little more reclusive. I want to be with myself more and spend a little more time with the smaller and little pleasures of life.

I find going for a bike ride with my daughter, reading with my son, a little more attractive than the whole business of dealing with being a star.