Though Shah Rukh Khan couldn’t come to greet the sea of fans outside his bungalow Mannat due to security issues, the actor made sure he attended the fans’ meet-and-greet on his 60th birthday on Sunday. At the fan meet, Shah Rukh shared anecdotes from his films and also spoke about the important role fans play in his life. The actor also watched the teaser of his upcoming film ‘King’ with fans at the meet-up.
In a viral clip from the event, Shah Rukh Khan shared that he did ‘Chak De! India’ as a tribute to his father, Meer Taj Mohammed Khan. The actor’s father used to play hockey and Shah Rukh also played the sport. He said, “This was important for me. I used to play hockey and my father also used to play. I really wanted to play for India. But I got hurt and stuff like that. In a way, it’s good that I became an actor. When ‘Chak De! India’ came to me; it was a tribute to my father. I don’t like to give more meaning to films than they should have. They are meant for entertainment, but I remember telling Aditya Chopra that I would do this film for my father. The girls were very good, fantastic. It was good to play hockey with them.”
In another clip, Shah Rukh spoke about getting a national award for ‘Jawan’ and how it was long overdue. he said, “It has been 35 years and ever since I have joined the film industry, I have never made bones about the fact that I love awards a lot. 10-15 years back, I used to feel bad about not getting the award because I felt that I had acted well in every project. Sometimes, I would feel bad for not getting encouragement for my work.”
“Every actor needs validation because we don’t get it in any other way for films. Some 10-15 years ago, I decided that if I feel sad for something that I did well, but it didn’t work… All humans like to be liked for their work and then I decided that whether I get an award or not, if I get to meet the people who love me, that is the most satisfying for me,” he said.
He added, “Having said that, I am very grateful for the people who chose me and this included Ashutosh Gowariker, who used to feel I should have gotten an award for his film ‘Swades’. Now I want as many national awards as Filmfare Awards.”