Shah Rukh Khan: Perseverance & Success

Learn English with Shah Rukh Khan. In this inspiring conversation at the World Government Summit on February 14, 2024, SRK shares insights into his journey to stardom, the importance of perseverance, and how he navigates the highs and lows of his career. Discover the rituals that keep him grounded and his vision for the future in this must-watch interview.

The Making of a Star

During his speech, Shah Rukh Khan reflected on the journey that has defined his career, sharing personal anecdotes and lessons learned along the way. He recounted how, despite losing his parents at a young age, he found the strength to persevere and build a life and career that has inspired millions. His story is a testament to the power of determination and the ability to overcome adversity. Three key themes emerged from his narrative:

1. Perseverance Through Adversity: SRK emphasized that perseverance was not a choice but a necessity in his life. From facing personal losses to navigating the highs and lows of the film industry, his ability to keep pushing forward, regardless of the circumstances, has been a cornerstone of his success.
2. Innovation and Reinvention: Khan spoke about the importance of innovation in his career, explaining how he constantly sought new challenges and reinvented himself to stay relevant in an industry known for its fleeting fame. His decision to explore unconventional roles, even at the risk of failure, highlights his commitment to growth and excellence.
3. Balancing Success and Failure: The actor candidly discussed the reality of both success and failure in his career. He shared how he deals with the aftermath of both, underscoring the need to move on quickly and focus on the next project, regardless of the outcome.

Khan’s narrative offered a unique glimpse into the mindset of a superstar who has remained at the top of his game for over three decades. His journey illustrates the importance of resilience, creativity, and a willingness to take risks, even when the stakes are high.

Lessons from the Silver Screen

Shah Rukh Khan’s conversation also touched on broader themes that resonate with audiences far beyond the film industry:

1. The Power of Rituals: One of the most intriguing aspects of SRK’s life is his Thursday evening ritual, where he takes a two-hour bath to cleanse himself of the past week’s work. This ritual, he explained, helps him reset and prepare for whatever comes next, whether it be a blockbuster success or a disappointing flop.
2. Embracing Change: Khan’s willingness to embrace change and adapt to new circumstances has been a key factor in his sustained success. He advised that innovation and reinvention are crucial, not just in the entertainment industry but in any field.
3. Remaining Grounded: Despite his immense success, Khan has remained grounded, attributing much of his success to the support of his family and team. His humility and acknowledgment of the people who have helped him along the way serve as a reminder that no one achieves greatness alone.
4. The Value of Persistence: Through his stories, Khan conveyed that persistence is vital in overcoming challenges. Whether facing personal tragedies or professional setbacks, his life is a testament to the power of never giving up.

In concluding his speech, Shah Rukh Khan offered a powerful message: success is not merely about fame or wealth; it’s about staying true to oneself, continuously learning, and never losing sight of the importance of perseverance. His insights provide inspiration for anyone striving to achieve their goals, reminding us that the journey to success is as important as the destination itself.

Host: It’s not often that I’m downright intimidated by the person I’m about to interview. Kristalina Gheorgheva? Easy for lunch. But SRK is a legend. Aren’t you?

Shah Rukh Khan: You’re being very sweet, Richard. Like I told you, I’m not a legend. I’m Bond. James Bond. I told you that backstage.

Host: Say that again. Go on. What’s your name?

Shah Rukh Khan: Bond. James Bond.

Host: Would you like to play Bond?

Shah Rukh Khan: I’d really want to, but I think I’m too short.

Host: What about Bond baddie?

Shah Rukh Khan: Baddie, yes, of course. I’m brown enough.

Host: If we look at your career, how many years?

Shah Rukh Khan: Now, I think actively including television… Thirty-three years now, I’ve been actively working as an actor.

Host: But to have reached the level of stardom that you have reached and for the length of time is quite an achievement. It’s more than that. It’s a huge achievement. But it speaks to more than just, obviously, the raw talent. It also speaks to perseverance, the ability to keep going, which is something that’s so crucial.

Shah Rukh Khan: Yeah, I think it’s… you know, perseverance is… I think it happens to some people. You don’t have any option but to persevere. So, maybe when I was young, I lost my parents very early, and then you realize that, okay, there’s no rewinding this. There’s no coming back from death, and you have to continue, make the most of what you have. So, I was kind of a youngish orphan, and I had to work my way through it. Or it could be just part of nature. You know, it’s the nature of the beast that you are just with dogged determination. You keep on working.

Host: Where does that come from?

Shah Rukh Khan: I don’t know. I’ve always tried to analyze it… that, you know, why do I do what I do? Why do I wake up in the morning and just start doing it all over again? Even when it’s… I think it taught me, you know, the work that I do, making films… you know, the result happens very suddenly. You think you made the best of films. You think it’s the nicest of stories to tell. You think the world is going to love it. And you wake up on a Friday morning and realize it’s the biggest flop of your career. And you’re like…

Host: Which happened.

Shah Rukh Khan: Which happens, yeah. Which happens more often than not. Or sometimes you don’t like a film, and that becomes the biggest hit of your career. And you say like, how did this happen? But what I realized, and I want to say this to everyone actually, and I say this to everyone who’s working with me or people who know me… that on Thursday evening, because our films release on Fridays mostly or Thursday evenings here in Dubai… So Thursday evening at home in Mumbai, I rinse myself with a two-hour bath and rinse myself of the work that I’ve done.

Host: Because what happens… Oh, hang on. Let’s talk about that bath.

Shah Rukh Khan: It’s a ritual, yeah.

Host: Is it a ritual? I mean, do you put special oils and scents? Do you have bath salts? Do you prepare with candles?

Shah Rukh Khan: I’m not telling you my secret. You come and take a bath with me. Easy. I show. I’m an actor. I’ll show you how to do it.

Host: Should I take him up on his offer? Carry on, sir.

Shah Rukh Khan: No, but honestly, I do because, you know, I realize when you do a big hit film, it’s done well, and you’re very happy, and everybody’s jumping around. Friday happens, Saturday happens, Sunday happens. And you realize this is a big blockbuster. But Monday, I have to get back to work to make a better film. You made a flop film, Friday you’re sad, Saturday you’re crying, Sunday you’re moping, and you’re not waking up from bed. Monday, you have to get back to work and start making a better film. So Mondays are for trying to make better films always. So you have to persevere.

Host: Okay, but let me be crude. You don’t need the money.

Shah Rukh Khan: No, I need the money.

Host: Oh, you do?

Shah Rukh Khan: The bath oils are very expensive.

Host: Fine. If you had to define the quintessential SRK film, what would it be?

Shah Rukh Khan: I’ve said this before. I was telling you behind… I don’t know when it happened, Richard, to be honest. I didn’t realize it. I never wanted to be someone who’s, like I say, peddling love or a seller of dreams. I wanted to be an action guy with eight packs and beat up people, be in a white vest, girl on my side with a Glock in my hand, and speak in baritone and things like that. But I never got the opportunity. I don’t know. When I started off, suddenly everybody started to think of me as someone who’s, you know, promising hope, giving hope, and spreading love… like I spread my arms again and again. So I think my regular film would be a film that gives you hope, gives you goodness, gives you happiness, and at the end of it all, lots of good songs.

Host: Yes, but you’ve also… there’s a great YouTube video, four minutes of your best entrances.

Shah Rukh Khan: Yeah.

Host: And there’s a lot of action in them.

Shah Rukh Khan: Yeah. Only entries, no exits. I just keep entering again and again. My kids get very… you know, when I… I have three kids, and whenever that video plays, and I have to tell you a secret, we’ve compiled it from the office. I think it looks just very cool. It’s not made by others. We’ve made it. So whenever a show like this happens, and if you allow me to show a video here, we’ll show you me just entering some places very dramatically and romantically. But my kids make a lot of fun of it. You know, whenever I get a little serious with them, they’ll just look at me and say, “Oh my God, he’s doing those entries from his video… S R K.”

Host: So it does become a…

Shah Rukh Khan: Oh yeah, I can do that. I can do that.

Host: Do you want to walk along?

Shah Rukh Khan: With your permission, sir.

Host: I will, if it’s okay.

Shah Rukh Khan: I will, if it’s okay.

Host: Is there something you would not do on screen?

Shah Rukh Khan: On screen? I don’t know. I wouldn’t be… I’d like to give hope in my films. The stories that I tell, I hope they end with hope. I know I’ve done some really sad films also. I’ve done films that are tragedies. But somewhere down the line, I just hope that I can give hope in film. So I don’t like to give hopeless cinema or hopeless stories, because I think in life and in businesses and in jobs and the world, there’s enough sadness.

Host: So you… you’re extremely well known here, obviously because of the Indian population that is here and elsewhere. But you like it here. You have… you have a home. You… you are… you are not a here-today-gone-tomorrow person for Dubai.

Shah Rukh Khan: No, no, no. I spend a lot of time here. I have a beautiful house, which has been given to me by Nakhil. And it’s one of the nicest places in the world because nobody troubles me. And His Excellency, the prime minister, also just told me that he stays next to it. So the next New Year party is with him. He’s a good neighbor. But it’s really nice. I really, really enjoy being in Dubai. I really love being here.

Host: And you find the juxtaposition with going back to Mumbai?

Shah Rukh Khan: No, this is very easy. It’s just two and a half hours away. So I keep dropping in. We come with the kids, and there’s so much to do here. I’m sounding like the tourist ambassador of Dubai suddenly.

Host: Everybody asks about crossover, and I’m no different because the more I researched you, the more I wondered. I mean, all right, supposedly, 2011 DiCaprio never happened. Supposedly, allegedly, Slumdog Millionaire, you turned down. Allegedly. Why hasn’t the crossover taken place? I don’t see why it should. You’re a big enough name in your own genre. But why has the crossover not taken place?

Shah Rukh Khan: I’ve said this honestly, but nobody believes it. So I’m going to say it to you very, very honestly. Nobody’s ever offered me any work, crossover of substance. I may have had conversations with people. I know lots of lovely people from the West, from the English film industry, from the American film industry. But nobody’s offered me any good work. You know, I hear actors talk about, “Oh yes, I want a crossover. I want to take Indian cinema.” I think I’m… I still have to learn how to be able to deliver to the audience that likes me. And you know, instead of spreading myself too thin. And then, yeah, of course, if you’ve not been offered a job, how do you take it? So really, I’ve never been offered a film in Hollywood or in England. Yes, Slumdog was there. Now that you mention it, and I spent a lot of time with Mr Boyle. He’s very sweet. But I was doing Who Wants to be a Millionaire on television.

Host: Successfully.

Shah Rukh Khan: Successfully at that time. And I just felt in the story that was being told, the guy who was hosting was very mean in the story that was being told. And I’m like, you know, I’m here doing Slumdog Millionaire, and the guys who were producing the show wanted me to do the film. I just found it… you know, these guys, I was cheating and being dishonest as the host. So I just found that it’s very strange that I’m being a host and I’m cheating in the film. So I explained to Mr Boyle that I wouldn’t like to do it, please. And there are way better actors than me. And I think Mr Anil Kapoor did it. And he was fantastic as the host.

Host: When the person’s getting close to a million, the top in Who Wants to be a Millionaire, that moment, what do you feel?

Shah Rukh Khan: Genuinely, when I was hosting it, I would hope they win it. I really, really hope they win it.

Host: But I’ve done a quiz show myself. And there comes a point when you think, how close can I get to getting them to win it without…

Shah Rukh Khan: Yeah.

Host: Did you know what I mean?

Shah Rukh Khan: I always did that, you know, when I was… because there’s so many people from different parts of the country. And I really want them to win. And you… yes, you do try to be a little helpful.

Host: But you can’t.

Shah Rukh Khan: You can’t. Because the producer keeps shouting in your ears, “Don’t. You’ve said enough. You can’t talk about it.” And unfortunately, the last four questions or the last two questions are extremely difficult. You know, suddenly they’re thrown upon you and you’re like, “Oh my God, this person is not going to get the answer.” And I feel really bad. And I try to think, I wish I had some hint, and I can’t mislead the person by trying to give that hint. Because I also mostly didn’t know the answer.

Host: So, what is left that you have not done that you would like to do? And by that, I mean… that’s not a Hollywood question. That is a general… you know, even within your own… within Indian films, within production, within… what still remains on your list?

Shah Rukh Khan: So, Richard, when I started off, I just wanted to survive, you know, be able to get a week’s work or a month’s work or a year’s work and say, “Okay, my films should do well.” But as years have gone past, I think this whole… my whole job has become more and more motivated towards bringing new technology into the Indian film industry. I want to end my career, which is far from ending right now. I have another good 35 years to go. I really, really want to make that film which is loved by the whole world. And then nobody on a big stage like this asks me, “Why haven’t you crossed over?” That film should cross me over. That’s my dream. I’d want you to learn Hindi and Urdu and Arabic to be able to understand that film.

Host: Did you… did you go on a massive retreat of personal introspection between 2018 and 2023? You just had two or three films that were not as successful. Suddenly he disappears and everybody thinks, “Oh, he’s licking his wounds. He’s feeling sorry for himself. He’s… whatever.” And then he comes back in ’23 with three blockbusters. What was going on in that interim period?

Shah Rukh Khan: So, you’re very kind. Yes, I had massive flops, and they did very, very badly. And I was doing all of that. I was licking my wounds. I was not in… you know what I did?

Host: Yeah.

Shah Rukh Khan: For four years.

Host: Go on.

Shah Rukh Khan: I’ve never said this to anyone, though I’ve mentioned it, but today, here, I’ll tell everyone. I learned how to make the best pizza in the world. That’s what I did. Honest to God. I stopped listening to stories. I stopped wanting to tell stories. I found myself and made myself a small kitchen, and I started learning how to make pizzas. And I learned what you asked me, right, to begin with… perseverance. Because to get the perfect pizza, it takes millions of square pizzas before you’re able to make it completely round. So, I learned perseverance, and I will make the best, best pizza in the world.

Host: Can you?

Shah Rukh Khan: No. I’m working on it. Next four years when you don’t see me…

Host: But was it a difficult moment when your wife and your family and everybody said, “Will you stop making pizza? Go back to work.” Was it difficult to know now is the time to go back?

Shah Rukh Khan: Yeah, actually, you know, there was always a toss-up. I was very glad my family didn’t tell me, “Listen, your pizzas are better than your films. Stop making films.” So, I was glad they turned around and said, “No. As good as your pizza is, I think your films are better.” They were very encouraging, especially my children, my team, some of them are sitting here. And they said, “Okay, what you’re going to do is tell stories.” And you know, I had become indulgent. I had started becoming too innovative. I was looking for perfection. And I started failing. I needed to look for excellence. I needed to be unique. But I needed to look at the audience, what they want. And I’d stopped hearing the crowds. I used to go where there are thousands and lakhs of people waving at me. But I wouldn’t hear or feel what they wanted to see of me. You know, I was going there and waving, and I’m saying, “Whatever I make, I’ll be innovative.” So, I did a film about a vertically challenged guy. I did a film about a manic psychopathic fan. And I’m like, “No, people just like to see me giving hope and happiness and love.” So, let’s get back to that.

Host: And as a result, the movies that you came back to make, and there were three of them last year, were huge successes. Therefore, that introspection clearly worked. That clearly did the trick.

Shah Rukh Khan: Yes, mashaAllah. I think it just helped me realize that whatever you do, you have to do for the people or your consumers or your audiences. And yeah, it also made me realize one very main thing… don’t forget to pray. You have to pray and you have to get back to work.

Host: Sir, I’m going to leave you with one… I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten. What was your name again? Your name is? Bond?

Shah Rukh Khan: Bond, James Bond.

Host: He’s available for the office.

Shah Rukh Khan: Thank you so much, everyone.