Shahrukh doesn't believe in reincarnation

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Shahrukh has always been fascinated by the cinema of the 70s and 80s. He grew up on them. His mother was an avid fan of Dilip Kumar and Rajesh Khanna.Therefore, it was not too difficult for him to play the character of Om Prakash Makhija, in Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om. "I just had to recall whatever I could remember about the films of those days, when I set out to play the character in the first part of the film," he says, laughing, as he adds, "In fact, Farah Khan says that those portions came naturally to me because I overact." The music for the song, 'Dhoom Thana', was carefully arranged by music director Pyarelal, of Laxmikant-Pyarelal fame, for that 70s feel.

For that famous sequence in the film, which is now aired as part of the promotional campaign, SRK reveals that the real stars from the industry were roped in for a guest appearance for a more realistic feel. The film is based on the film industry, so it was understood that duplicates would not work. SRK says, "I am glad that other than Devsaab, all the senior stars, including Shabana Azmi, Dharmendra, Jeetendra and Mithun Chakraborty responded immediately, when Farah and I called them to give a guest appearance."

Hritik Roshan, John Abraham and Salman Khan are the collective inspiration behind SRK's six-pack. Shahrukh does not think he can have bodies like them, but he thought he should give it a try. "I am only a debutante of the Body Builders Association of the Film Industry," he says with mock-seriousness, "Salman Khan is the Dada Saheb Phalke for all the body builders in the film industry." Shah Rukh apparently went to Hritik and Salman after he got his six-pack abs, to show off his
body, and take their opinion.

The two 'Oms' in the title come from the characters he plays – 70s struggler Om Prakash Makhija, and today's superstar Om Kapoor. The Shanti refers to the role Deepika Padukone plays, that of superstar Shanti Priya. SRK asserts that although the film is not a spoof, Farah Khan's unusual sense of humour is apparent in some parts of the otherwise dramatic story.

Shah Rukh also emphasizes that the movie has nothing to do with Subhash Ghai's Karz, although the story revolves around reincarnation. He adds, "We have just made an attempt to capture the period of the 70s. I do not think I am in a position to say that my film is hatke. I can only say that it is different as a producer for me since I had earlier made films like Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Main Hoon Naa. The term Bollywood is associated with the 70s. Even when I produced Main Hoon Naa, Farah and I wanted to recreate the 70s".

The superstar Khan declares that 'Devdas' was the biggest highlight of his career, and, if he had his way, Om Shanti Om and Saawariya would not have released on the same day, therefore not cutting into each other's audiences. He adds, "I wish Sanjay Leela Bhansali all the best for Saawariya. If you ask me, I have a lot of fear for my film though people generally maintain a front and insist that they have absolutely no fear at all when their films are about to be released. Though I still maintain that both the films should not clash with each other, I do not think there is going to be any competition, because there are enough people to watch both."