Salman Khan on ageing, the nature of superstardom, and his lack of sleep
Ashwini Deshmukh (TIMES LIFE; August 25, 2019)

Does the fear of fading stardom bother you?
Stardom will fade eventually. It’s a huge task to keep it going for such a long time. I guess Shah Rukh (Khan), Aamir (Khan), Akki (Akshay Kumar), Ajay (Devgn)… we’re the only ones who’ve been able to pull it off for such a long time. We’ll try our best to keep it going for another few years. Then, like in the case of all superstars, the box-office collection will come down to eight to 10 per cent. But it hasn’t started yet.

Are you prepared for that?
Yes. (Smiles) But it’s a long time from now.

You once said that you should feel 27, no matter what your age.
You should always maintain an enthusiasm and interest in whatever you do. Otherwise, don’t do it. As soon as you lose interest in things and say I’m tired, the old man seeps into a pore in your body. Then he takes over the whole body. So that pore should not be left open for the old man to set in.

Do you find ageing scary?
Ageing can be scary for anyone. You need to work hard. You’ve got to give your best. You can’t be as undisciplined as you were earlier. You’ve got to get accustomed to the boring discipline, which is not fun. I don’t see Anil Kapoor or Amitabh Bachchan as old. They are happening. I saw Sanju (Dutt) recently. He’s lost weight and was looking ripped. Each one of us is suffering from some physical problem. Someone has a knee problem; someone’s shoulder’s giving trouble, someone’s neck... Sab installments mein uthte honge subhe ko. But we are at it.

Has doing action scenes taken a toll on you?
I’ve been doing action so my body’s used to it. But then it does take a toll. Because every action scene has to be rehearsed five-six times. There’s a lot of girna padna involved.

Is it easy to maintain the energy level at this age?
No. It’s not easy. I have my own problems. I don’t sleep much. If I didn’t paint or write at night, if I went to sleep early, things would be better. In the morning after having coffee, moving your body bit by bit – in installments as I say: kaam pe jaana padta hai. Sometimes, I do cardio. At times, I cycle to work. I do something or the other to stay energetic.

Does a release still leave you tense?
Yes, if the last two-three films haven’t done well. So far, it’s been good.

Tell us a lesser known facet about you.
I don’t sleep much. I sleep for around two and a half to three hours every night. I paint, I write, I watch television. I don’t like switching channels, even if it’s only airing commercials. I get upset if someone comes and changes it. If cricket is going on then I switch it off as I don’t understand it much. But that too after many hours. Even if a south channel is on, it keeps playing. Of late, I find web shows interesting.

Which show have you watched recently?
I watched Game Of Thrones up to the fourth season. Phir break lag gaya because of work. Now I’ll watch the whole season. I just finished watching the series Vikings. It’s outstanding. I’ve watched Taboo, Arrow, Peaky Blinders... Now, I want to watch Money Heist.

Any plans of venturing as an actor on the OTT platform?
I’ve been offered stuff. But I’m not sure. Handling three mediums, films, television and the web, would be too much to handle. I want to do two films a year. So I may go back to the way I used to work earlier – doing two shifts.

One thing you never take for granted?
I don’t take my work for granted. Actually, I don’t take anything for granted.

Katrina said she admires your quality of being fearless…
I’m not fearless. There are some things I care about and some things I don’t care about. That’s not being fearless.

Is there any dream left to be achieved?
I don’t get much time to dream kyunki main zyada sota nahi.