Happy Birthday, King Khan...

Performing

The man seems to take delight in making light of his acting prowess. “I don't immerse myself in a character. I don't kill myself for dying in a scene in a film. I don't run 10kms because I have to seem out of breath. I don't believe in the method of method acting. I've read about it, I've learned about it. I completely disagree with it, maybe because I cannot do it. Or maybe I find it silly.” And yet, he’s one of Hindi cinema’s most loved actors!

Success

“When I think back on it, of course I got lucky and got great directors and good breaks but all that was the physical part. What made me a star was that I could take a chance and not have anything to worry about in terms of losing,” has surmised. Success is a high. “I love being recognized, I love people liking me, I love the fact that people scream when I go out. I think I'll miss all that when it's taken away,” he says, realistic enough to know that this too shall pass.

Self

“The line between what I really am, and what I am on reel, is slowly diminishing,” is one of the most profound statements he has made. Even as he claims, “I am like a kid,” he truly believes his job “is to make sure people smile.” That inner confidence is unshakeable when he maintains, “I don't have any competition. I will be very honest. And I don't say that with immodesty or self-centred pompousness. I have not come here to compete. I've come here to rule.” The inner engineering of a superstar but has be different from that of the multitudes!

Drive

Effortlessly driven is simply the way he is wired. “The only time I don't work is when I am asleep,” is how he puts it. The hunger isn’t sated… not as yet. “I've won many awards and I want more. If you want to call it hunger then I'm hungry for awards.” He sounds a tad mocking when he reveals, “Some people say, 'Shah Rukh, you work so hard. Why don't you sit back with a glass of red wine or go out on the terrace for a smoke?' But that's not me.” Don’t we know it!

Friendship

In a realm notorious for its make-believe love and fake friendships, he takes his attachments very seriously. “I do have a close circle of friends and I am very fortunate to have them as friends. I feel very close to them I think friends are everything in life after your family… You have to be true to them otherwise what's the point in life?” Indeed!

Religion

He does not wear his religion on his sleeve but one senses his quiet, deep faith. “I talk to Allah, I pray to him… I don't teach my children what is Hindu and what is Muslim… I know it's very idealistic and utopian, but I believe we need to just let everyone not be judged in terms of religion, groups or nations or region.” Yes, religion is between man and his maker – and should remain so.

Women

“I don’t talk to men—I don’t try to spend time with them. It’s boring! I’d rather be in the company of women. They have an inner strength in the face of ups and downs and I think I’ve turned into a little woman, spending so much time with them.” That revelation would have melted the hardest feminist heart! Personally, we love it when he declares, “Sometimes a lot of us men think we are doing everything for the woman we love, but there is an aspect of a woman a man doesn't understand.” No man gets women the way SRK does!