19 March 2011

SRK shows off his abs at India Today conclave

Shah Rukh Khan
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan shows off his six-pack abs to the gathering at the 10th India Today Conclave at Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi on March 18, 2011.
Shah Rukh Khan presented two sides of his enigmatic personality at a packed-beyondcapacity session on 'Movies, Magic, Life: Making Movies Work in a Brand New World'. He first spoke at length on how the film industry's growth was linked with developments in science and mathematics, and then brought the house down by lifting his shirt to prove that his "four-pack abs" were very much intact.

His shirt-lifting moment came when India Today Group's chief creative officer, Kalli Purie, asked him if he still had the sixpack abs he had developed for his 2007 blockbuster, Om Shanti Om. "Not six-pack abs, but I do still have four-pack abs," the superstar said, lifting his shirt.

"I don't want to hide it, so you can confirm it right here." That sent the audience into a frenzy of claps and cheers.

The other big Shah Rukh moment happened when the session's chairperson, actor and TV show host Koel Purie Rinchet, asked him what his first action would be if he became the country's Prime Minister for a day. "I would go on a holiday," SRK quipped, and then added on a serious note: "Just being honest is not enough. It is important to ensure that everyone in the office is honest and that we weed out corruption from every aspect of the government machinery." He said if he were the PM for a day, he would wipe out corruption, "which has gone into our veins". But he was quick to add: "I think our PM is a nice person.

He is doing a very good job." Based on a guest's tweet, Koel asked if SRK wanted his privacy back, which he has lost after attaining superstardom. "All my life, I have worked to become a star and be recognised," SRK replied. "I hate it when I see celebrities hide their faces behind glares to evade the public eye. I want By Priyanka Srivastava in New Delhi people to scream out my name when I land at the airport. I want girls to tear off my clothes. I want them to invade my privacy. I love to be troubled and disturbed," he added with his trademark swagger.

Looking dapper in his favourite black suit, SRK came without his famous 'Rasta' hairdo that he was seen sporting till recently for his upcoming film, Don 2.

"It's too cumbersome to maintain long hair," he said later.

Giving a glimpse of his vintage wit, SRK confessed he had prepared his speech for the session on his iPad, and said: " Actors are not meant to be smart." Smart, though, was the operative word as Shah Rukh's session got underway. Addressing the topic at hand, the actor brilliantly reinterpreted Frank Capra to explain the development of Indian cinema.

"Film, Frank Capra said, is one of the three universal languages รข€¦ the other two being music and mathematics. Indian films, I dare to add in this modern decade, are all three languages rolled into one. We have the music, the images, and the corporates have brought in the mathematics," SRK said.

Looking ahead from his vantage point, he said: " We need to make our own Harry Potter films.

Hollywood has trained the world to watch films that are made on a set format. To sustain ourselves in the market, we need to master the skills in which we are lagging behind." He then summed up his session, re- phrasing his famous dialogue from Om Shanti Om: "Duniya ko hamari badi badi filmein abhi dekhna baaki hai mere dost (The world is yet to see our really big films, my friend)." After Shah Rukh's address, the session was thrown open for questions. When a retired Brigadier from Bastar pointed to the difficult situation in the Naxalite-affected districts of Chhattisgarh, and how the magic of cinema could be used to do something for the affected people, SRK's line was pragmatic: "It's a tall order to make films for a specific people. I joke about my dancing in marriages for money, but I slog 16 hours a day to entertain and bring smiles on the faces of people because my films are based on common emotions." A guest from Denmark asked how he would like to be remembered.

"At 46, I am passing through mid-life crises," SRK replied. " I would want to say it in third person: ' Here is SRK. Remember that he tried and tried too hard'."

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