There’s nothing like there... I’ll tell you an incident — there’s this one actor, I won’t name him, who told me, ‘I want to be a big star like you ’cos I want to have a car like yours and a house like yours’... I didn’t say anything to him, but then, he had put a limitation to his stardom already! ‘if I have a car and a house, I’m done’. but I don’t have such limitations. I have 14 filmfare awards. do I want more? Yes. How many more? I don’t know.

I know people say Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal are the most famous stars from Hyderabad, but then I like to say I am also a Hyderabadi star, you know? I am half-Hyderabadi,” says Shah Rukh Khan, staking claim to his Hyderabadi legacy in his characteristic affable style that belies his superstardom. “my mother was born in Hyderabad,





she’s from Tolichowki. I’ve spent such a big part of my childhood here,” he adds, to make his case stronger; in case you didn’t buy his story. And that sets the tone for a free-wheeling chat, where the “half-Hyderabadi” star talks about why he doesn’t take the ‘King’ in King Khan seriously, why he thinks he hasn’t really ‘arrived’ yet and why he believes his kids should first achieve something on their own to become famous enough to be
photographed. Excerpts.
In Raees, you are a gangster who doesn’t stop at anything to become a big man, a rich man. But what about SRK in real life? Do you think being raees — being super rich — is all that it’s cracked up to be?
A lot of people think raees means ‘rich’; as in being ‘ameer’. but in Urdu, there are a lot of layers to this word. ‘Ameer’ is rich, but ‘raees’ ka matlab hai someone who’s more giving; someone who’s a dilwala. He need not have money. as long as nature is of giving, as long as he’s benevolent, he is raees. And yes, I think, everybody should be raees. When it comes to being wealthy, I’d like to tell every young person — even if it sounds wrong —




 it is important to be well off. You should be wealthy. after all, you have a family to look after — your parents, spouse, kids. Find yourself a comfortable spot, work hard. there should be no illegal means — don’t do what Raees is doing in the film; but legally, with your hard work, you must earn yourself a comfortable life, even before you start following your passion. I think you owe it to your family.
For someone like you, who’s already ‘there’, and has everything he could ask for in life, what’s the driving force?



There’s nothing like there... I’ll tell you an incident — there’s this one actor, I won’t name him, who told me, ‘I want to be a big star like you ’cos I want to have a car like yours and a house like yours’... I didn’t say anything to him, but then, he had put a limitation to his stardom already! ‘if I have a car and a house, I’m done’. but I don’t have such limitations. I have 14 filmfare awards. do I want more? Yes. How many more? I don’t know.



Do I only work for them? No. I’ll be happy if they come? yes. You see, there’s no end to being successful. And I’m not comparing here, but, when Sachin Tendulkar comes out to play, you want him to score 200 every time. When Virat Kohli plays, you want him to hit 200 every time. success is prolific, success has to continue... So, I am not there yet. I want to be more prolific in my work. there’s so much more I can do as an actor, producer, director.



And I don’t think I’ve even done 10 per cent. Yes I have a big house and a very big car, but those were not achievements i was working for.
Achievements aside, do you have days when you want a break from it all? Do you ever get tired of being SRK and wish you could go back to being that Delhi boy again...?
If I wanted to be that Delhi boy, I would have stayed back in Delhi (laughs). I want to be a star and I’m unabashed, I’m shameless about it. I want to be known. I want the whole world to recognise me. I don’t mind people running after me.




Every day when I walk out of my house, there are 500 people waiting outside — I like it. I wave out to them and I’m grateful to god for the position I am in. of course, there is a lot of scrutiny all the time, but that’s okay, because this is the life I chose; this is not something that has been forced upon me.




 I meet people who say, ‘oh god now that I’ve become a star, I’ve to hide my face’. But all my life I have worked towards being recognised, I love being recognised. Having said that, if I don’t want to be seen, I won’t be seen.

 If I don’t want the social media to know I’ve gone out tonight, no one will know. If I attend a party and don’t want people to know about it, they won’t. But when I want to be seen, I’ll walk out knowing that there’ll be 100 cameras outside. Someone will put something up, someone will say something nasty... Every day there are comments on me, my family, my children —



 bad ones, good ones. but these are just voices; they are nameless, faceless people, giving their opinions. I have an opinion about myself and my work, which is very strong, very unbiased. so, i’m not bothered by all this. i know what i do; i work very hard; i’ve done this for 25 years — that’s half my life! So,



 I don’t get waylaid by praise or criticism, or some picture, or even media saying something bad or good. Like, when people praise me and say I’m king Khan, i don’t think I am a king; when they say I’m not good enough, i don’t think i am not good enough. i’m somewhere in the middle. that truth you should know about yourself!

Having said that, if I don’t want to be seen, I won’t be seen. If I don’t want the social media to know I’ve gone out tonight, no one will know. If I attend a party and don’t want people to know about it, they won’t. But when I want to be seen, I’ll walk out knowing that there’ll be 100 cameras outside. Someone will put something up, someone will say something nasty... Every day there are comments on me, my family, my children —


 bad ones, good ones. but these are just voices; they are nameless, faceless people, giving their opinions. I have an opinion about myself and my work, which is very strong, very unbiased. so, i’m not bothered by all this. i know what i do; i work very hard; i’ve done this for 25 years — that’s half my life! So,

 I don’t get waylaid by praise or criticism, or some picture, or even media saying something bad or good. Like, when people praise me and say I’m king Khan, i don’t think I am a king; when they say I’m not good enough, i don’t think i am not good enough. i’m somewhere in the middle. that truth you should know about yourself! so no, I don’t want to be that delhi boy.

When Chiranjeevi walked in to the sets on the first day, I knew Khaidi No 150 would be a blockbuster: VV Vinayak

Even one week after the release of Khaidi No 150, reports about the film's record breaking collections are continuing to flood timelines of Telugu cinema lovers world over. "Boss is Back and ruling the Box Office." "Mass audience ki Boss evergreen." "All time record." The social media is agog with one-liners raving about the Megastar's charisma as a slew


of movie inspired hashtags like 100CrGrossForKhaidi, Boss is back KhaidiNo150, #Chiranjeevi have been trending relentlessly. Director VV Vinayak says the success of the film boiled down to one factor: Chiranjeevi! His charisma rather.


"When I saw annayya walk in to the sets on the first day of the shoot itself I knew the film would be a blockbuster. I was stunned. He looked more glamourous than he did in my film Tagore (2003). In fact he looked like Chiranjeevi from Choodalaniundi (1998) days. It was like he turned the clock back," shares VV Vinayak.
Watching how effortlessly the Megastar flitted between the dual roles of Kathhi Seenu, a convict on the run, and Shankar a good samaritan who is fighting for the rights of poor farmers, was a delight, says the director. "When Annayya is on the set, he becomes the cynosure of all eyes. He doesn't even have to do anything.


Such is his charisma. I was most impressed with the subtleties he showed in the expressions, particularly as in the Lion's Club scene where Kathhi Seenu decides to take up Shankar's cause," says Vinayak, adding, "Only people who worked with him will know this — annayya would isolate himself on the days he has to do emotional scenes. He wouldn't talk to anyone and would go sit in a quiet corner.

And the moment the scene is done he would switch back to his bubbly demeanour."
Directing Chiranjeevi during the dance sequences was what VV Vinayak enjoyed most. "His grace is unmatchable. He has a signature step in every song in the movie and he did justice to every one of them. A lot of times I would OK a dance move only to hear Chiranjeevi garu say, 'No. One more take.' We would oblige sceptically, but then after he gave that one extra shot we could see the difference on the monitor. The finesse he brings to the smallest dance movements is just amazing," says VV Vinayak, signing off.

Ram Charan talks about his future plans

Still basking in the glory of his blockbuster production, Khaidi No 150, Charan is in a happy space. And it seems to be having a trickle down effect in the Konidela household as well. Even as the father-son duo were busy on the set of their film, a major renovation was underway at their residence. "We are revamping our house after 15 years

. Nannagaru has been thinking about this for some time now; more so ever since Upasana became a part of our family, says Charan, adding, "We are ensuring that there is an Indian touch in how the house is being redesigned. It's going to be very traditional — nothing contemporary. We want to stay true to the roots."


So, what about speculation that all this is being done to welcome a new member of the family some time this year? (Laughs) "Oh, I still feel like I'm a kid! When I feel grown up and when I'm sure that I can handle myself as an adult, I will think of children then. Right now, I have no such plans."