One man band

Not that there was anything for him to prove. But Devdas once again puts Shah Rukh at the top of the hype heap. Bollywood reporter, Subhash Jha writes about the star who has made it to the top of the ladder and stayed there for more than 11 years.

Tell him he is brilliant and Shah Rukh brushes off compliments like the bumble bee hovering around the character, Paro in the film, Devdas. Ask him how he got a grip over the elusive and enigmatic character and shah Rukh shrugs, not willing to divulge the formula — because there is none. Or so he claims. Jha asked him why has Devdas’ character worked in such a big way? “There are so many ways of looking at him. He is a lover.  He is a loser and an alcoholic. I don’t see him as any of these. “I see him as a tragedy with a happy ending. All of us deep down inside love the idea of being sad. But I don’t like showing it — Devdas showed his sadness. But he can’t express his love for Paro. When he does express it, he says it to a prostitute.” He talks about the role of Devdas as he saw it. Shah Rukh spoke about his character with a certain passion in his voice. “So how could Devdas be a true lover? He shouted his love from the rooftops. He drinks himself silly, he hits his woman, he runs away from marriage commitment, he returns to taunt his woman on her wedding day and to clinch it all, in the most troublesome manifestation of love, he comes and dies at the woman’s doorstep.”

That was his character of Devdas in the movie, Devdas. Jha wanted to know what research he undertook before playing this character. Shah Rukh replied by saying, “None at all. “I can’t explain the process of my performance. It’s very personal. Unfortunately the critics and those who analyse films in this country cannot differentiate between characterisation and performance. I put my heart and soul into every role, even something like, Yes Boss. “After acting in 40 - 45 films in more than 11 years, I can’t say that it is hard to do any role. Devdas is a very, very good role, no doubt about it. To me it is difficult, challenging, beautiful and multi-dimensional as Dilwale Dulhaniya or Kuch Kuch Hoata Hai or Asoka. Responding to the question of whether the audiences watch the star and not the character, he said, “Most of the time I cannot claim to be an actor great enough to curb the tendency to be a star. “When you read Robert Ludlum’s novels, you read different stories. But there’s a certain style to them all, which you look for. Most actors have a certain style attached to them. Even the biggest actors in the world are stylised.
 
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Dilip Kumar, Balraj Sahani, Uttam Kumar, Utpal Dutt, Nana Pataka, Naseeruddin Shah, Rajesh Khanna — they all had a style. The best compliments he received for his character Devdas were from his wife and his children who nicknamed him, Devdas. “My kids did not see the film. They are too scared to see their father die. But they saw the promos. Now whenever I am in a dhoti and kurta, they know that I am Devdas,” he said. Jha asked Shah Rukh what was his formula for the success he enjoys. “No set formula for me.  After Friday is over, start to plan something else, not necessarily better. Earlier when I went on the roads, they called out, Deewana, Baazigaar and Badshah. I never slowed down to hear them. I quickly moved on. Nowadays everywhere I go, even when I go to drop my son to school, people shout out the dialogues of Devdas. I quickly want to move on so they can call me something else on the road,” he answered. He responded to the comment, “11 years and still at the top”, by saying, “You don’t believe this, nobody believes it. But you can’t touch this.” Will Devdas probably be the best film of his career, Jha wanted to know. Shah Rukh answered, “If I accept that, I might as well retire today! The next one will be the best.”