With every aspect of life embracing the ‘new normal’ in these Coronavirus times, Bollywood filmmakers say that they will have to rely more on VFX in their narratives
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; July 12, 2020)

Over the last decade, VFX (visual effects) has played an increasingly prominent role in Bollywood films. And, in the current normal that we are all living in, we will probably see filmmakers leaning more towards VFX to bring the desired impact in their movies. In keeping with safety norms, filmmakers are chalking out ways to involve fewer people on the sets of a film, thus opening more doors for VFX teams to play a bigger role in the narrative, especially when it comes to sequences involving outdoor locations, elaborate dance numbers, action scenes and large crowds. In a recent chat with BT, filmmaker R Balki said, “I think VFX technology will play a huge role in our cinema now. It’s going to explode in this country like it never has before. So, I think newer ways of designing things in our films… in fact, technology is going to play a huge part in filmmaking right now.”

‘NOW, WE CAN TRY TO CREATE INTIMATE SCENES USING TECHNOLOGY’
“This period will throw up a lot of innovative ideas for filmmaking using VFX. In fact, it will make visible changes in the way TV, gaming and advertising industries function. With precise planning, VFX can be a tool for filmmakers to make the shooting process more convenient. Crowd scenes were always a part of VFX, and now, we can try to create intimate scenes using technology. But I doubt if a full-scale CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) will be worth the effort in most cases, as it adds to the expense,” said Naveen Paul (co-founder and VFX supervisor at NYVFX waala), who has worked on the special effects for movies like Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior.

Keitan Yadav (COO, Red Chillies VFX) believes that the future of cinema lies in virtual production. He cited examples of films like The Lion King and The Mandalorian series, which were shot using virtual production technology. It was also employed for parts of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, Zero. He shared, “Filmmakers can use this technology at the pre-production stage, for planning and organising the shoot schedule. This will reduce the number of days required for shoots, save cost and ensure smooth execution of shoots. It will reduce VFX work and improve quality within the pre-decided budget.”

Harry Hingorani (VFX supervisor and creative officer of the company) added, “VFX companies are the ones, who will be able to help filmmakers adapt to these changes. We recently got a call from a producer, saying that he was half way through the film before the lockdown. They have 50-plus days of shoot pending, including a big sequence that requires them to go out of Mumbai. Since they can’t do that, we are getting into virtual production with them.”

‘IT’S EXTREMELY SHORT-SIGHTED TO THINK OF VFX AS A SOLUTION’
Producer Nikkhil Advani,whose films Bell Bottom and Satyameva Jayate 2 will go on floors in the weeks to come, said, “It’s extremely short-sighted to see VFX as a solution for shoots post lockdown. You will still have to send a unit to the location to take plates. Also, if it needs to be done correctly, it means matching light conditions, camera angles and depth of field. In India, we have constantly used VFX as a tool for correction, while it actually needs to be used for creation. If VFX has to be an option to shoot at interesting locations and scenes with crowds, it will become imperative to give more time to prep for each of those sequences.”


WITHOUT VFX, HOW DO I SHOW JAM-PACKED STADIUMS, ASKS RAHUL DHOLAKIA
Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who will be helming Taapsee Pannu’s Shabaash Mithu, the biopic on cricketer Mithali Raj, shared, “VFX will become very important for me, because, without it, how do I show jam-packed stadiums? Also, we may not be able to go to various locations because of revised budgets and other constraints; so, VFX will have to help us. And as far as the narrative is concerned, I don’t think VFX is the only player; rewriting screenplays to adhere to shooting guidelines will play an important role.”

Producer Boney Kapoor agreed, “VFX was already playing a vital role, and now, its importance will increase further. In our film Maidaan, we have to create a certain ‘period’ as well as different football stadiums. So, VFX will play a substantial role. I do see it becoming a stronger part of the narrative if it helps save cost and enhances quality. But I know that live action and VFX cannot replace each other beyond a certain level. So, we will use VFX as much as possible, especially in times of COVID-19, because the safety of cast and crew is most important.”

Voicing an important concern, he added, “In terms of investment and recovery, I believe that VFX studios will also have to rethink their pricing. If they want to get the bulk of the work, they will have to deliver on pricing as well as quality, as we are all interdependent. There are many countries that offer rebates and incentives for post-production, and that’s something that can be a huge opportunity for Indian post-production industry as well.”

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; June 29, 2017)

Shah Rukh Khan plays a dwarf is Aanand L Rai's untitled next. The superstar revealed that his firm, Red Chillies VFX, is working on the special effects of the film, and he is certain that it will change the way technology is used in Indian movies.

A source working on the project reveals that the makers have used the same technology used for Hollywood films like 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord Of The Rings.'

"The makers will not superimpose SRK's face on a dwarf actor. They will shoot using Forced Perspective, a technique that employs optical illusion to make an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller than it actually is. It will make SRK look shorter," says the source, adding that oversized costumes and shoes will add to the desired look.

The movie will also feature a revisited version of Shashi Kapoor's hit track, 'Hum Ko Tum Pe Pyar Aaya.' "SRK will be seen dancing to the classic from 'Jab Jab Phool Khile' (1965). It's an amusing sequence in the film."

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; June 27, 2017)

While the sci-fi Ra One was seen as a major step towards upping tech ante so far as Shah Rukh Khan’s VFX company is concerned, the actor claims that his forthcoming venture, the untitled Aanand L Rai production, will change the way technology is used in cinema.

“For me, this film is technologically the most superior one made in India,” SRK says. The actor’s company, Red Chillies VFX, is working on the special effects and he is thoroughly enjoying the process of making it: “Considering the technology we’ve used, it’s quite awesome that we’ve created such a film in India. I am so proud that my team is involved in it. In fact, we have set up a whole new office in Goregaon [for it]. We have shot for around 10-15 days and Anand has told me that he will edit it and show me (the final results).”

The process of working on the scenes, he confesses, is tedious. “It takes a lot of time. For a 30-second frame, we have to work for almost a month. I am dying to see what we have done so far. We plan to finish the film in 15 months.”

There was sufficient buzz around the actor completing 25 years in the industry, but the Badshah says he wasn’t even aware of the milestone. “Someone reminded me about it a couple of days ago. It feels great to spend half my life in the industry. I am really thankful to all the people who have tolerated me,” he laughs.

Talking about his fans’ love for him on the occasion of Eid, the actor said it had everything to do with his ability to keep making good cinema: “Everyday, so many people come outside my house to get a glimpse of me. This really makes me feel that people love us as people, not just as actors. They attach their hopes and aspirations with their favourite celebrities.”

He elaborated by narrating, “Recently, I was shooting in Budapest. I haven’t been there before. But people came in huge numbers to shower their love.”

Superstar says his company has pitched for upping the ante in VFX of both films heavy on special effects
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; November 22, 2016)

At 51, Shah Rukh Khan seems keen to shed his 'king of romance' tag and emerge as an entrepreneur. The VFX wing of his banner, Red Chillies, could easily be labelled the best in the business. After the company was signed up to do visual effects in 'Sin City 2 – A Dame to Kill For' (2014), SRK was convinced about the potential of his business. Chatting with hitlist, he shares high hopes for his company.

"I can make visual effects in India grander than it ever has been," Shah Rukh declares. "This is my only business for which I go and ask for business. I personally meet filmmakers and pitch ideas to them. I really feel I can help them out and keep it within their budget. I am not into this to make small-time money. I have had several meetings with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rakesh Roshan. I have no ego problem asking other filmmakers if I can do VFX for their films. I have run this for 12 years and if in the next five to 10 years I am able to do this, I am certain this company will grow by leaps and bounds. I feel I can make visual effects world-class in this country," he adds.

Currently, the actor's team is working on the pre-production of Aanand L Rai's film tentatively titled 'Bandhua'. SRK will be seen playing a dwarf in that one. He elaborated, "We have shifted our whole unit to Goregaon. As soon as we have one big project on hand, we find it impossible to take on another movie — something we learnt while doing 'Krrish'. It will be a VFX-heavy film. The film rolls in Meerut. We can't do VFX in a real location. The plan is to shoot a big chunk of the movie there and visually recreate a lot of in the studio."

Asked what his ultimate vision for the company is and he quickly responded, "I want to make India the biggest in VFX. While working on 'Krrish 3' (2013), we realised we couldn't juggle two mammoth projects with barely 200 people. You need a minimum of 350-400 people to do multiple projects simultaneously."

Expanding the business, SRK's company has now outsourced work to China to be able to take on more projects. Now, he is hoping to clinch the fourth instalment of the 'Krrish' franchise as well as Ayan Mukerji's superhero flick starring Ranbir Kapoor.

"I have spoken to Ayan about it and he had even come down to see the office and meet people who will work on it. I won't hold a grouse if some filmmakers don't choose us. But, my vision is that this company should be on everyone's go-to list. I believe technology can help Indian films match up to international standards and good visual effects is quintessential," he signs off.

Shah Rukh Khan on stardom, fandom and the struggle, not to reach numbers or a certain demographic, but to not disappoint the people who love him
Tushar Joshi (DNA; April 13, 2016)


You called yourself an average actor recently. That’s really being modest.
You may be having higher standards for me. I think that’s a good thing for people who like me to know that I’d like to do even much better than what I have done so far. The thing about acting is the more you do it, the more you realise how little you know. So people who suddenly claim to be fantastic actors with a method (and I’m not deriding anyone here), they don’t know. I meet young people and I’m acting with them or my kids, the more you know, the more you realise how little you know about acting. So yes, you have to keep trying not for anybody else, but yourself. After 25 years and 16 hours of work a day, I’m going to do something new and crazy.

Has there been a moment in your life when you felt like a fan in front of a celebrity?
I feel like that even today. I don’t know. In the context of an obsessive fan, no. But in the context of when I came to Mumbai, most of the actors I worked with, I loved them on screen and got an opportunity to work with them, be it Mr Bachchan or Sridevi or Madhuri or Juhi. I love them all. And so, even today, I never think of myself as their contemporary or their colleague. I think of myself as someone who is an outsider. Not because I’m from Delhi, but because I’m just an audience and there is a certain degree of fandom that remains in me even today. If I’ve seen an actor on screen before I’ve worked with them, I’m still a fan. I love people who act and I get really impressed by them.

Have you ever taken an autograph?
No. I have never taken an autograph of anyone. What I take is instead a hug. When I really like someone, I say, ‘Give me a hug’. If I ask Amitji to give me one, he might find it awkward, but I’d rather take a hug than an autograph or a photograph. I met Michael Jackson and I’m a big fan, I met Madonna and she came to meet me backstage in New York. It was so kind and gentle, but I never got myself to take an autograph or a photograph with them.

Tell me about these female fans who land up at airports and welcome you when you travel abroad.
Oh yes, they are my friends now. They have been doing it for years. I ask them and sometimes they say they take holidays regularly but now they find out my plan or my office tells them. I think, in Fan, they’ve taken one of those scenes also. They land, they come, they stay in the hotel, they are very well placed women, they are really beautiful women and as a matter of fact, I went to London recently and if they’re not there I miss them actually. I’m like ‘Where are you?’, it’s like that. I leave my kids with them now and say listen you guys go and look after them if need be, because they’re part of family and they are everywhere. And they come with lot of respect, lot of dignity on my birthdays and I help them sometimes, other times, they come to drop me to the airport. I meet them and they’re all over the world whether it’s New York, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, everywhere.

What was the toughest part of shooting for Fan?
When you’re surrounded by so much technology in a film —whether it’s a RA.One, Fan or whichever film, where a lot of new technology is used, the whole unit is immersed in trying to get it right and it is very technical. A little left or a little right and all that, sometimes you may lose the will of capturing the essence of acting or lines, but I think the patience that the whole team had — Maneesh, from four hours of make-up, then one-and-a-half hour to prep and then take the shot three times. You have got the right shot, but the VFX shot was wrong and so you do it again and try to recapture it. It would be a very tiring 16 hours, you start a shoot at 2 o’clock which means you’ve started the first shot at 7.30 and then you have to shoot till 5 in the morning to capture enough hours and each shot takes two hours. And it’s very tiring for everyone. But the only way you could do it was an exact take. The light has to be right, if I’m supposed to be here over the shoulder I’ve to do it again exactly like this and say the lines. A lot of it is pre-dialogued. Very difficult. But I think everybody just kept on accepting it and having a lot of patience and fun. The difficult part of it was to be able to overcome the technology and still keep it human enough.

Who is AbRam a fan of?
He likes the minions. He likes dinosaurs and he likes his father. He is very fond of me because I play a lot with him and I’m very gentle with my children. He likes Suhana a lot because she is very gentle and sweet. Aryan is a little tough. Mother, of course because she is always with him. But I think he enjoys me the most.

You have played double roles in the past, what is the biggest challenge of doing a double-role film?
You are just talking to yourself and especially in the scene which you do together, I have a method or opinion. I don’t know if everyone follows it or not, I pre-record the dialogue I do the scene, so it is very schizophrenic and I say one line and the other is way different. One is 24-year-old and the other is 50 year old. The body language is different, face is different, eyes are different, it’s very difficult and specially when we start touching each other. So this is it... the essence of this double role was when you are five minutes into the film, you should for a fact start believing they are two different people. In other films, you’re actually playing for they should be confused who is who. In this, you need to make it so, that’s why it is different. Like in Don, both Vijay or Don you can play both together similarly. But in this case, you had to make sure that 10 minutes into the film, you are like okay this is the guy Shah Rukh is playing and this guy we don’t know who he is, he is an actor called Gaurav. I think that was very difficult.

Have you ever tried to analyse what percentage of people make your fans? Is it men, women, or kids?
No, I have never done that. I think families like me and families are everything, boys, girls, everything. But I still like to believe, today I wrote on Twitter and boys said we also love you. But I think girls do like me a little more. I think I am gentle like that and I don’t have a very alpha-male attitude and I’m still okay. Like my son keeps teasing me also that Papa you’re a little gentle, you’re not tough.

How do you handle criticism and praise at this stage in your career?
I don’t care about it, because the way I see it, very early on you realise in your life that you got to do what makes you happy, so you can make others happy. And sometimes, when you do, it doesn’t make them happy. So, as an actor working 10-12 hours a day dedicated to this and has no other life, you really need to understand that there would be some people who like you and some wouldn’t. Either is at extremes and you are somewhere in the middle. Then you have social media and some really extreme reactions come up. You may get disturbed about it or just believe that some people are not well brought up and the think this is the the nice way to speak and they’re trying to prove a point to their friends. I need to do something. I have to feel from within that, I am reaching out to enough people and not let them down because they love me so much. My struggle is not the numbers or the demographic. My struggle is I hope I don’t let my loved ones down. It’s not got to do with whether it’s a girl or a boy or the father or the mother or a demographic, it’s just the people who love me. I hope I don’t disappoint them. That’s all.

Shah Rukh Khan talks about being a fan — both on screen and off it
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; April 11, 2016)

Shah Rukh Khan possibly enjoys one of the biggest fan-bases across the world. Being one of the most popular faces in the world, SRK enjoys fandom like no other, India or overseas. And in his next release Fan, Shah Rukh has lived the other side of his life — an admirer’s. Spotted interacting with fans, clicking pictures and signing autographs every now and then, the superstar has taken a backseat to let ‘fan’ Gaurav Chanana do all the talking. SRK talks about his film and why Fan might just be the game-changer in Indian cinema. Over a cup of coffee, sitting in his Mannat library, he settles down for a tete-a-tete. Excerpts:

This is your eighth film with YRF. Is Fan another homecoming?
We keep on doing films regularly. It’s been over 20 years since Darr. Fan is my eighth film with Yash Raj Films. We have done one film every two or three years. We always try to do a film where there is something good to bring to the audience. I am working on another film with YRF. It’s always very simple. Adi (Aditya Chopra) just calls me and tells me, ‘Picture karni hai toh tu aa ja’. And they are like family. So they say, ‘Tu apna time bata de, main yeh film kar raha hoon. So hum log fix kar lenge.’ And he does it. He is very organised that way actually. He tells me at least one year beforehand that we have to start a film, so that I also can plan my schedule that way.

You said you’ve never been a fan of anyone…
Yes, actually before I could become a fan, I became a star, so I could never really understand how it is to be a die-hard fanatic at all.

But as Gaurav, you got the nuances correct. Did you have any inspiration?
(Smiles) No yaar. It’s very strange, how I played Gaurav, I have no idea of how he has got played. I saw the film yesterday and for me, the difficult role was of Aryan Khanna. Because that’s what I supposedly am. A superstar. But he had to be played with a lot of dignity and style, which is completely unlike me. Not that I am undignified or that I don’t have style, but this is more in the real zone. Aryan is someone and his life is something I know for sure. Bada ghar hai, badi life hai. It was more difficult for me. For Gaurav, think of me sitting at a KKR match. How I feel when my team is playing is what makes me closer to him. Then again, I am not the fan, I am the owner of KKR. But the emotions that I go through when my team loses or the desire to see a six in the last ball or even when India is playing, are things that make us fans somewhere. I was watching the India-West Indies match where we lost or even the match with Bangladesh which we won — that time you do feel like a fan. So you just call upon some interaction or thought like that. No, I didn’t physically think or perceive of someone. It is a character which is stand-alone. If anyone has to be given credit for it, it’s Maneesh. He knew what he wanted out of it. So I don’t even understand why he wanted me to do certain things. But as an actor, I tried my best to fit into what he thought Gaurav was. And we have created a new animal, so to say. It is not based on anyone, it is not Shah Rukh playing it a certain way. It’s maximum Maneesh’s belief of how it should be. We have reached what Maneesh actually wanted and that’s the main thing. So, there has been no inspiration except for what the director has meant to tell.

But you have admired Dilip Kumar saab and Big B. Before becoming an actor, did you ever do anything crazy for them?
I have never done anything crazy. I was doing a play and I liked the character of Babu from Satte Pe Satta. So I had put powder on my hair because he had grey hair and I also wore my sister’s lenses. Woh role zaroor kiya tha maine. Because I thought I can act like Amitabh Bachchan, which I still think. And it’s not true even now. Dilip saab was a little before my time, so he was my parents’ favourite. Now if you are talking to me about crazy, the craziest thing I’ve done is I have made Devdas. It can’t be crazier than that. To have a great actor like Dilip Kumar and the audacity to say ‘Let’s do Devdas’. To say ‘Kaun kambakht bardaasht karne ke liye peeta hai’. I still remember how he said it. So, for both of them, I have done a Don and a Devdas. You can’t be a crazier fan than that. To try to give a tribute to them and I have always maintained that. Because you know, every film has their generation and time. These two films are, of course, timeless, but I felt maybe that the younger generation needed to be re-introduced to those films. So as a fan or as someone who really admires them, whether it’s a tribute or audacity, I have done that.

Red Chillies VFX has finally managed to do something that even Hollywood could barely do. Completing 10 years, how proud do you feel?
Yes, they completed 10 years yesterday. And yesterday was the day we did the last shot for Fan. I don’t know if starting my own VFX company was a right decision or wrong. I met these three people. There was Arjun, Ketan and Harry who had a company called H20 I think and I said please start working with me. We started working on different films like Main Hoon Na and Paheli when we didn’t even have the machines. We borrowed machines from different companies to work on the VFX and slowly kept it going. Even today as we talk, it is a very expensive outfit to run. We have 300 people working but there’s a belief. I think VFX is necessary to make good cinema and it should not just be used for action sequences or just guns or for space. I think it is used to beautify the cinema and give vision to your dreams. If there’s one thing that I am extremely proud of and one thing that I feel I have done right in the industry, it is to have opened my own VFX company and working with these wonderful people. I don’t behave like a boss. The prime moving force of Red Chillies VFX is that we will only do excellence in our jobs. We will never do fly-by-night operations or clean-up jobs. Even today we run in losses sometime. I told them clearly that we will never ever say ‘India main yeh chalta hai.’ Internationally, it should work. We will always do work which gets appreciation across the globe. We did not even have the knowledge then. But then, Ra One and Krrish helped us a lot. We did small bits and pieces for Paheli and Main Hoon Na. If we get the VFX right with Aanand L Rai’s next film, I think it will be an achievement of a different order. I think even with Fan itself. I am very proud to say that it’s impossible for Adi, Maneesh or me to have done this without the VFX team.

Do you feel India is ready for animation as well?
Animation is very difficult in India and is very different from VFX. They are two different set-ups. Yash Raj has tried it with Roadside Romeo. I think international animation is very beautiful be it Pixar or Disney and those films can be dubbed in Hindi by big stars. We did Incredibles back then. So it is a good practice and I think animation is a very dedicated job. No, I don’t think we can get into that as we need 400-500 animation farm unit and I don’t think we have the capacity or money to spend yet.

You have taken innumerable risks right at the beginning of your career. Darr established you as a star. Did Fan bring back fond memories?
First part, yeah! When I did Darr and Baazigar, at the age of 24-25, I had no idea about the enormity of rightness or wrongness. A lot of people told me that you should not do this film. But mujhe malum nahi tha ki sahi hoga ya galat hoga, so I felt okay! A lot of actors left those films because they knew that it could be a wrong move. At 25, from Delhi, I thought it can’t be wrong, it sounds good. Darr was a little psychopathic and Gaurav is actually exactly that person at 24. He does not know the enormity of rightness or wrongness. Kar deta hai woh. He is not at all psychopathic. I am very clear that if I have done a role, I don’t want to try it again. So, for example, if I have done a role where I suffer from Asperger’s, why would I do it again? I mean, exactly, not in 10-15 years. Maneesh’s view was very clear. Gaurav is just a 24-year-old kid. When you talk about risks, I mean, stakes change yaar. That time, I had no worries and I guess Yash ji had. He was making a film which was completely unromantic and different from what he had made before. So he must have known the enormity of the risks back then. Now, a lot of people tell me that Shah Rukh comfort zone mein film kar raha hai which lot of people don’t like. Is walein mein bohut saare logo ne bola hai, ‘Arre, why doesn’t he have a romantic song? There should be a heroine at least. ‘Gerua ke jaisa kuch hona chahiye tha’. You can never make everyone happy which means if you can make that film, the risk is always to be a part of a film which at the face of it doesn’t make everyone happy but at the end of it may. Like a Chak De was panned completely. When it started, it was possibly the lowest opening of my career apparently. It was only about 55 per cent on day one. Arre heroine nahi hai, gaana nahi hai, yeh hockey hai but people still loved the film. That is the risk. It’s not whether yeh chalegi ya nahi chalegi. The risk, is it’s not a typical film that we make as a blockbuster like a Chennai Express or a Happy New Year or a Dilwale. Those are made to order ki yaar, yeh holiday pe aayegi, sab jayenge, gaana-dance, fight, sab ache scale pe hoga. Like a Superman vs Batman or Jurassic Park which everyone will go to watch. But to make a film which on the face of it not appealing, perhaps to everyone of a star’s highlights and then pull it off, then that’s an achievement. And I think Maneesh and Adi had the guts to take the chance with me. If they had the guts just like Yash Chopra had it back in ’93, who am I to question them? For me, it’s an actor’s job to be interested.

Gaurav is obsessed about Aryan Khanna. Have you ever faced a male fan like him in real life?
I am happy that I have female fans only. (Laughs) Guys would be too hairy and all, who will come to hug me (jokes). But I have boys who will emulate me and want to be like me. I think more than fans, I like the admiration that people have. Like yesterday, we were doing a show with a guy called Nilesh Sable and he said he admires the way I have lived my life and he looks up to me. I know a lot of boys like that. I don’t know if girls are like that too who want to be like Shah Rukh. Without sounding self-obsessed, for me that obsession of a person is very interesting. But I don’t know anyone who will do something really crazy like Gaurav. I go out on my birthdays and there are guys who will take off their shirts, have my name tattooed and jump. Unfortunately, I don’t know them personally. Women I have met are more aggressive than normal fans (laughs). And I can say they are like me a lot. But not many male fans have been like that.

Reports suggest there are seven cuts in Fan…
There are six audio changes and one cut. There’s a scene in the jail so there’s a little more blood in that so there is about a one-and-a-half second cut. It was like ki chaar baar mat maro, teen baar mar do. There are no big cuts. There are six cuts, audio-wise because some of the things we say in Delhi may not be understood or at times be misunderstood here. For example, a word like thulla which means a cop. But it may sound a little vulgar, though it’s not. It’s okay because it didn’t make a difference to the film. So I went and re-dubbed it. There was one more word like this. I think somewhere I said kameena. We just changed that. It’s not like a big thing but if somebody felt that it might be a little wrong, then it’s fine. The film is really a harmless film, so to say. So there were these little changes.

Do you think the Censor Board has become stricter with their certification process?
I will be the wrong person to answer that because I have never been part of films where the film is too intense for me to go have a dialogue with the Censor Board. I mean I may have at times with stuff, like Lovely Ho Gayi mein thoda exposure zyada hai or ghanta mat bolo. So babaji ka thulla kar diya, ghanta hatake. But it’s never been harmful and neither have I been part of films like that. It is quite subjective, depending on the Censor Board. If they feel otherwise, you can always appeal against it and there’s a process to it.

But they also tend to give action films an ‘A’ certificate these days…
About action, normally when we do an intense action even like a fighting scene from Dilwale, we know that we have to lighten the scene a bit so that kids can watch it too. Else we get a U/A. So we keep it a little loose only, to be really honest (Smiles).

What’s the best gift that you have received from your fans?
Yes, I think two people have gifted me pieces of the moon. I have a certificate too. You can buy land on the moon through an agency in America. I have two plots there (smiles). Two Australian ladies have gifted them to me on my birthday and even named it after me. A crater is named Shah Rukh. Also, I think the sweetest gifts are the ones where people write to me. I collect them all. The lower racks here (pointing towards the racks in his library) are full of things my fans sent to me. There are books of me with years of cuttings, which is very touching. When I see them, it’s really nostalgic. I get reminded ki arre tab kiya tha. I don’t have the time to go and see old times mein kya ho raha tha because I am moving ahead all the time. Some little girls have given me half-broken hearts and the other halves are with them. So we have had it for years. My safe doesn’t have expensive things at all. It is full of these small, but priceless gifts that my fans have given me. So there are these little trinklets which I give my daughter sometimes. There are a lot of people who give me a lot of teddy bears. And nowadays, the most touching things is that people all around the world give me gifts for my kids now. So there’s a good T-shirt for Aryan, a nice dress for Suhana and clothes for AbRam. If they just did it for AbRam, I would still understand, but they do it for all three kids. And you can sense it. They have figured out the measurements, got the right sizes and guessed their tastes. So that’s incredible.

You had a knee injury while you were shooting for the film. Did that make things more difficult on the sets?
I am actually very energetic whenever I am doing something. I am very pious in the way I live. Yes, of course, I have got bad habits but the energy stems from the fact that I really enjoy what I do. I have never been lethargic. If I can go and play football with my kids right now, I will play it like the World Cup. I won’t be just kicking the ball around. It was difficult because my injury was at its peak. When I say Fan was hard to make, it was not because of the character only. There are two difficult scenes in the film. One is the chase scene in Croatia. I had to take two injections, I was in the hospital post shooting every day, we strapped up completely and then we had to do the run twice — once as Gaurav and once as Aryan Khanna. Jabra Fan was also at a time when my knee had swelled up. I had to take out water every day and get an injection every morning. So yeah, it was painful because of the injury. But I enjoyed the song so much that I really wish I wasn’t injured yaar. The whole brief that the team gave me was this is a song for people who don’t know how to dance and who just express themselves by being mad. Except that one step which we have done because you need it. We had done away with dancers, it was just about Gaurav expressing. So they would put the song on and ask me to just dance madly. Then we have taken bits and pieces and made it.