The issue of a wife's loneliness was something I thought worth talking about 
Currently Bollywood's most commercially successful and popular film star, 39-year-old Shah Rukh Khan began his acting career in television serials before hitting the big time as a villain in the thriller Darr (1994). Since then he has gone on to transform himself into India's leading romantic hero, making 45 films during his 15-year career. With a huge fanbase both in and outside of India, Shah Rukh's golden box office performance has led to him being known as King Khan. His latest film, Paheli (The Riddle), is his sixth as actor/producer, and sees him play a ghost in the re-telling of a classic Rajasthani folktale.
What's the story behind Paheli?
Paheli tells the tale of a young woman whose husband leaves home on their wedding night to pursue his business. However a ghost who has fallen in love with her takes on his appearance so that is appears all is well. When the real husband returns, confusion arises until a wise old shepherd devises three tests to resolve the paheli (riddle) that has baffled everyone. I play the double role of Kishen, the husband, and also the ghost.
So is Paheli a romantic ghost story?
More than a ghost story Paheli is about the emancipation of women, the loneliness of a married woman and how women should be loved. 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. She doesn't want the money, the cars or anything like that. Sometimes she just wants a hug. There's a whole form of literature in India which talks about the quest for the perfect man by a woman, where every woman looks for a perfect man but only ends up with half that. Paheli stems from that idea.
Did anything from your personal life appear in the film?
The director Amol Palekar and scriptwriter Sandhya Gokhale were very clear about what they wanted to say in the film, so I couldn't change that by saying so and so happened to me and my wife so put that in. Besides, I have always been with my wife and never leave her alone! But the issue of a wife's loneliness, particularly in relation to the villages of India, was something I thought worth talking about. I have a security guard at my house that goes back to his village once every two years to see his wife. These are choices you have to make by circumstances. In modern towns and cities women may not put up with it, but in rural India women do have to deal with their husbands leaving home to find work.
Were there any special effects used to create your ghost character?
There are some but when you set a film in a historical period, however realistic and nice you want the effects to be, they somehow make it a little modern. So we've tried to keep the effects as few and simple as possible and not try to impress you with them. He's just a normal guy who happens to be a ghost. We never see what he would be like as a ghost - just some smoke and dust appears. He does vanish and can take any form, but we haven't shown, for example, any funny love making scenes where he changes shape and size.
You adopted a traditional Rajasthani look for Paheli with a huge turban and moustache. Was that an enjoyable experience?
After Paheli I've sworn I'll never wear a moustache again. It was very difficult, especially in the desert where it was hot and itchy. You also end up having a strange grin on your face!
Was it difficult to play two characters in one film?
It was a little difficult to play two characters as there was nothing such to choose between them, and yet they had to be different. We didn't want to make either one of them look like a buffoon or for the audience to say, "Oh good the husband is a fool and the lover is fantastic" or vice versa. There is a scene at the end with the both of them, which was very difficult and I still don't know if I have done it well. I also don't know whether the film will be a hit or a flop, but I hope it entertains.
Paheli was made in 45 days, and we see more and more Bollywood films being completed in shorter periods. Do you think this affects the quality of the film?
Technology has made us realise that you can make a film in shorter time frames. As far as the market is concerned, the films I have produced have been quite expensive mainly because of the number of days we shoot. Some of the expense is due to the technology we've starting using, like better cameras and synch sound. So the only way to cut that cost now is to plan it better and try and finish it off in four - six weeks like films which are shot in the West. I personally believe the film turns out better when shot in one short schedule, plus it doesn't stress the actors. You can take a break and even grow a damn moustache if you want to, before moving on to the next.
Is it true that Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan refused to accept the 10 million rupees payment you offered him for his special appearance in Paheli?
Yes that's true. After finishing the shoot I wanted to pay Mr Bachchan for the work he had done and got my office to write him out a cheque. I don't write cheques anymore because I end up signing them "With love from Shah Rukh" (laughs). I also wrote him a letter on behalf of Red Chillies, my production house, thanking him for his support, but he said he would never take money for working with me. You see it's not about the money but about the way he went about doing my film. He turned up for work happily at 6 o'clock every morning. He's a really kind gentleman and the greatest star I have ever been in touch with.
This was your first time working with Amol Palekar, a director who's better known for his art house and Marathi films. What was the experience like?
Amol comes from a totally different world of cinema than me. I'm a crass, commercial, in your face, entertainment guy who genuinely believes in that kind of cinema. The kind of cinema Amol comes from is a more artistic, intellectual and perhaps a purer form of cinema. But I think both are fantastic. So there would be situations where our interests as producer and director would be at loggerheads. But I'm too professional to say yes to project and then take a stand that is contrary to it. I am very clear that when I work with a director what he or she says is the last word. There have been rumours of me ghost directing the film - excuse the pun - but that really is not true. But I do have a creative input in all of my films as far as my role is concerned.
You started your career in negative roles, but now seem to be typecast at the ultimate good guy. Would you still pick up a script where you play the villain?
I would love to do any role that is offered to me providing it is interesting. But in the last few years I think nobody has really made films where the bad guy has been as prominent at the hero. People think we actors make the choices but actually the films make the choice. When you are of the status that I am, and in the situation where films being offered to me are mostly love stories and good guy roles, you can't really change things. But if someone offers me a role in which I am bad and throw women off buildings, I'd do it!
There's a lot of talk about Bollywood actors crossing over to Hollywood. Would you ever do a Hollywood film?
I've never been offered a Hollywood film. Maybe I'm just not good enough. Full marks to actors like Aishwarya Rai and now Salman Khan who's doing Marigold. They have taken us on to a semi-international scene. I would do a film for the role and if they offered it to me in a language I was comfortable with, like English. But my dream is to make a Hindi film which tells a story from India in the same garb with songs and dances, but shorter length, and make sure everyone in the world goes to see it in spite of the language. I see so many films in spite of their language. To me the standard is the Italian film Life Is Beautiful. I didn't know the language, the actor or the kid, but it was such a beautiful film that it moved the whole world and me.
Paheli is released in UK cinemas on Friday 24th June 2005.
