SRK Wants To Do A South Indian Film, Remembers Yash Chopra, Parents

LOCARNO (ANI) – Superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who thrilled his fans with the 2023 blockbuster “Jawan” directed by Atlee, revealed his desire to do a South Indian genre film after “Dil Se.”

In a candid conversation with the artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, Giona A. Nazzaro, SRK shared his thoughts. He said, “For me, the greatest storytelling parts of India are from the South. They have some outstanding storytelling. Malayalam cinema, Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema—they have some of the greatest superstars of our country, and we all know it. It’s just that recently, with some huge hits including ‘Jawan,’ ‘RRR,’ and ‘Baahubali,’ everybody started noticing it.”

King Khan also revealed that his desire to work in the South Indian genre arose after working with Mani Ratnam on “Dil Se.” He added, “It was my desire after having worked with Mani Ratnam in ‘Dil Se’ to work in a South Indian genre film, not just get a South Indian director to make a film. Each area and every person has a different take on telling a story. The South has a specific style—larger than life, robust, lots of music. They love their heroes to be larger than life. So, I really enjoyed it; I have never done a film like that.”

Praising director Atlee, SRK also shared a sweet moment when Atlee named his son after SRK’s father. “Yes, language was a bit of an issue to start with, but then we started gesticulating. I would look at Atlee, who’s a wonderful guy. He incidentally also had a baby while we were making the film, Meer, whom he named after my father, which was very sweet. We made most of the film just shaking hands and having a great time over idli dosa and some chili chicken. I think genuinely, ‘Jawan’ is one of the first fusions of Hindi and South Indian cinema that transcended all kinds of boundaries, did good business, and was really loved across the nation. So, it was a great experience for me.”

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan and veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra collaborated on several remarkable projects, including “Dil To Pagal Hai,” “Darr,” “Veer-Zaara,” and many others. The “Pathaan” actor recalled watching Chopra’s 1973 thriller “Joshila” at a very young age and said that he was at the Locarno Film Festival because of him.

He said that it was his mother who took him to watch the film in the theater but with a condition. As he mentioned, “In school, Hindi was not my strongest point. My mom said, ‘I’ll take you to a movie hall to watch a film if you get 10 out of 10 in Hindi dictation.’ I think I copied one answer from a friend, but I did get 10 out of 10, and then my mother took me to watch a film in a theater for the first time.” The film was Chopra’s 1973 thriller “Joshila,” starring Dev Anand, Hema Malini, and Raakhee.

He continued sharing that after his parents died, he wanted to leave New Delhi, his hometown, and come to Mumbai. “I thought, I’ll get some roles. Then I thought I’d work in front of the television, and then I got into films… And then one thing led to another. I came to Mumbai for a year in 1990 and said, ‘I’ll work for a year, buy myself a house, and then go back and become a scientist or a mass communication journalist.’ And I haven’t gone back yet,” he added.

Speaking about “Devdas,” Shah Rukh said, “It’s a very special film. ‘Devdas’ was the movie that my mother loved watching; my dad also used to talk about it. It’s one of the greatest classic films with Dilip Kumar. Many years later, when Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who I think is one of the most talented filmmakers of our times, came down and said, ‘I want you to do “Devdas.”‘ I said, ‘No, he’s a loser, an alcoholic. I’m too cool to be Devdas!’ So, it kind of petered out, and then before leaving, he just said one thing, which still sticks with me. He said, ‘I’ll not make this film without you because your eyes are like Devdas.’ He said, ‘I would not cast anyone else.’ And for a year, he didn’t. Then we met again, and I said, ‘Okay, if you can’t find eyes like mine, I’ll do the film.’ Again, I was privileged to work with Aishwarya Rai, Madhuri Dixit, and Jackie Shroff. It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life to play that character.”

He stated, “I don’t like to play characters that demean women. I’ll be honest. I didn’t want him to be liked for the reason that, you know, he sort of dismisses a woman and doesn’t commit to her. I wanted him to come across as a person who’s a bit spineless. It’s not somebody you should look up to. It’s enjoyable, but it’s not the character that you take back home.”