Shah Rukh Khan Feels He May Become Lonely And Sad If He Turns Into Director

As a star, Shah Rukh Khan says he is reclusive and happy, but the actor believes if he ever turns to direction he will become lonely and sad. The actor, 54, said directing films is the “singular most lonely job”.

“Here you are kind of playing God, you are making a film, you are telling actors how to act, choosing the dialogues, making the script, selling it to the audience, going into theatres, editing it in dark rooms... When the film comes out you are all alone in the success and failure of it. I think being a director is an extremely lonely job,” Shah Rukh said in an interview with BBC journalist and “Talking Movies” host Tom Brook.

“I always worry that if I become a director I will genuinely get lonely and more and more removed from the regular way of living. Being a star already has made me a very reclusive or quieter or in own space. Right now I feel alone and happy. If I become a director I may become lonely and sad,” he added.

The actor, however, is a huge Christopher Nolan fan, and would like to direct an action movie. “I would like to direct an action film. I want to grow up and be Christopher Nolan. But I don’t know if I have the gumption. The big problem with me is I don’t know when to say ok. And the director’s big job is a roll, camera, action, cut, ok. I don’t know how to say ok. I feel it can be better or was it good enough. So I am a little wary of being a director.”

Shah Rukh Khan also believes the #MeToo movement may have started in the West but it has given voice to the women across the globe, including India, to share their stories of abuse and harassment. The 54-year-old actor says the movement has shone a light on the mistreatment of women in work space.

"It started from there... in the West and it gave voice to women to come out and talk about something that may have happened some years back... It gave them enough support to come out with their stories. "The greatness of this movement is that in the future, we have to accept that people do mistreat women in most fields than not, it has been a conversation everywhere," Shah Rukh said in an interview with BBC journalist and "Talking Movies" host Tom Brook.

The actor hopes the change is here to stay. "In the cinematic world and media world it has made us a little more aware now. I think the main thing is that people are aware that this is not going to go untouched if somebody behaves in an improper manner," he added.

When asked if Indian commercial films have touched upon such stories, Shah Rukh said while mainstream cinema has not delved deep into the subject, the parallel cinema has always held the fort.

(With inputs from PTI)