In the concluding part of the interview, SRK talks about his busy schedule, his smoking habits and much more to Savera R Someshwar and Saisuresh Sivaswamy.

You underplayed your role in Swades.

I was pleasantly surprised that there's a whole area of acting where I can underplay, and people haven't seen that and like that a lot. I am too energetic to really go into serious acting just now, and I've kept that for when I'm 55, you know, when I'm grey and I can't move fast enough. Then I'll do serious acting like in Swades. But I know there's a whole area that is waiting for me to do, I can do subtle, underplayed, easy-going acting in films if it demands.

To tell you honestly, I never expected people to like me in Swades as much as they did, it sounds pompous, but a lot of people, a lot of educated, serious-minded IIT-Kharagpur types like it, they say arre oh...

We loved it too...

Yes, I know, your name is Sai, and Sai will like it. You seem like an intellectual. So all the intellectuals liked it. Which is nice, I got messages from people who said that you know, we never liked you as an actor but in Swades we started liking you. Which is nice.

There's a reason for doing everything, and all the reasons are not for above 100-crore hits. And I think if I don't do it now, at the age of 40 plus, I'll never do it. A lot of my friends turn around and say don't do a Paheli, don't do a Swades, don't do a Chak De India... Just always do films like Krrish, Don and Dhoom. But sometimes I want my kids to take me seriously. Otherwise, they will think ke Dad was only about fun and games.

How do you handle setbacks?

If your expectations are real, there are no setbacks. If you are going to have unreal expectations from life or work, there will be setbacks. I mean, you will think they are setbacks. I never ever really think anything fails. Especially in creative work, you can't fail. It's a very strange word you know because the dichotomy of cinema is that supposedly it's a creative art form. And it is judged and gauged and sort of calculated by the parameter of money and ticket sales. It's a very strange thing, you say art is done in solitude, while cinema is an art form which is supposed to be public opinion. It's a dichotomy in itself.

There was a friend of mine who used to tell me, whenever you do a film do ek dhan ke liye, which is to make money. Do ek man ke liye, which is what you feel about, and do ek, just fun ke liye. Do it just for a lark. So if your expectations from a film is about dhan, and if it doesn't get you the dhan, then it's a failure. If it is about fun and it doesn't give you fun, then it's a failure. And if it's about man, and it doesn't satisfy you, then it's a failure.

I think Ashutosh's dad was very satisfied we did Swades, so it's okay. As long as he's happy and that's what we did it for. The hassle is if we start losing sight of that and start thinking Oh god, Swades should be a Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge. Then you are being foolish.