On Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday, his wisest, wittiest quotes: Don’t become a philosopher before you become rich
Happy Birthday Shah Rukh Khan! As one of the wittiest persons in Bollywood turns 53, here are his smartest quotes that are full of wisdom as well.
bollywood Updated: Nov 02, 2018 11:24 ISTShah Rukh Khan is, without doubt, is one of the biggest stars in the world. For 20 long years, he has entertained and has been loved back by millions of his cheering fans. Known as the king of romance for his onscreen avatar, Shah Rukh is actually full of jokes and wisecracks. Just look for all the award shows he has hosted over the years and you’ll know. Thing about Shah Rukh is that he also full of wisdom (a fact that often clashes with his public image) as many of his speeches, more so in recent years, illustrate.
For instance, when Shah Rukh was recognised at Davos this year and given an award for showing an exemplary commitment to uphold human dignity through his non-profitable Meer Foundation, he spoke eloquently about how corrosive acid attacks can be to a person’s soul. Not many of us would know that his foundation provides support to female victims of acid attacks and major burn injuries through medical treatment, legal aid, vocational training, rehabilitation and livelihood support.
His ready wit and self-deprecating humour is the stuff of legends. Don’t we all recall how he sidestepped the issue of attack on Sanjay Leela Bhansali during Padmaavat’s shoot in Jaipur in 2017 when AIB interviewed him at his home. This has to be seen in the context of a raging controversy that erupted in 2015 when Shah Rukh spoke about rising incidents of intolerance in India.
On Shah Rukh’s 53rd birthday today, here’s a look at some of his wisest and funniest quotes in recent times.
Shah Rukh Khan speaking at World Economic Forum 2018 in Davos, Switzerland
SRK spoke on acid attack survivors and what he had learnt from them.
“Actors are renowned narcissist -- no matter how much we pretend to not believe in external beauty, we tend to be obsessed by it, one way or another. Perhaps being surrounded by this obsession of beauty, a few years ago, I came across a lady who had been brutalised by an acid attack. It changed my life or the perspective of it, at least. To disfigure a woman by throwing acid on her face is to me, one of the basest, crudest acts of subjugation imaginable. At the source of it lies the view that a woman does not have the right to assert her choice - to say no to the advances of a man or a group of people. Yet each of the women I met, I found in them the courage to move on in life, to reject the idea of victimhood. What struck me most about them was this - that what was done to them only had made them braver, stronger and more able to free themselves to make the choices that everyone around them was telling them they could not make or should not make. From them, I have learnt how courage can catalyse victimhood to heroism.”
Shah Rukh’s TedTalk lecture
The star on how humanity is quite like him, an aging superstar.
“I sell dream and peddle love to millions of fans back home in India who assume that I am best lover in the world. If you don’t tell anyone, I will tell you that I am not but I don’t let the assumption go away. There are a lot of you here who haven’t seen my work and I feel really sad for you. That doesn’t take away from the fact that I am completely obsessed with myself as every star should be. I believe humanity a bit like me -- it’s an aging movie star, grappling with all the newness around it, wondering if it got it right in the first place and still trying to find a way to keep on shining.”
Shah Rukh Khan at Hindustan Times Leadership Summit
The King of Romance on why he doesn’t kiss in films.
“I had two rules — don’t kiss onscreen, don’t ride a horse onscreen... I’d rather ride a heroine and kiss a horse. But seriously, kissing in a movie is so mechanical. There are hundreds of people on the set and everyone.”
Shah Rukh’s interview with AIB
Given how often he gets misquoted or his statements are construed otherwise, he tried to be politically so correct about the attack on director-producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the sets of Padmaavat in 2017, that it was hilarious.
“Day before yesterday, some of the filmmakers - and rightly so or wrongly, I don’t know, it was their point of view - got little angry with some disturbance that had happened not somewhere in India related to something,” he said.
Shah Rukh Khan speaks at Yale University as Chubb Fellow
Shah Rukh and his self-deprecating humour had all the students in splits.
“I was told not to dwell too much on my movies when I spoke to you, I am to give you an inspirational talk - tell you stuff you can think about when you leave this room. That worries me, it gives me performance anxiety. Here you are, 1500 of you, hoping to hear words of wisdom from this sexy, desirable man, who couldn’t kiss a girl, last time he was in Yale because it was too cold. But I’m not that guy, I mean, I’m sexy and desirable for sure but I’m not about to leave you anymore inspired than when you walked in here.”
If these aren’t enough, here are some more interesting quotes of the star over the years.
SRK on stardom
“I don’t wear my stardom like a tuxedo. I wear it like a T-shirt.”
“I am like a Rolls-Royce. I can run without an engine, purely on reputation.”
SRK on humanity
“If you’re a real star, you don’t need to prove it in any other way than just being kind.”
SRK on his idea of romance
“Yeah, I treat all my heroines like children now. I pick them up, I cuddle them, I call them baby...”
“My biggest achievement is that I can make a lot of people smile just by my presence.”
SRK on pragmatism
“Don’t become a philosopher before you become rich.”
SRK on being lucky in life
“Very few people can turn their passion into their profession. I am one of those lucky few.”
SRK on a star-fans equation
The reason I’m good to fans and I believe in them is because I’m employed by them.
Follow @htshowbiz for more
First Published: Nov 02, 2018 11:18 IST