Shah Rukh Khan took on ‘Devdas’ for late mother

Bollywood king revealed all in a rare interview

For Bollywood fans, it would have come as little surprise that the industry’s undisputed king Shah Rukh Khan was crowned with the Locarno Film Festival’s career achievement award in August this year. Now sitting down for an interview with Locarno Meets, the festival’s official podcast, Bollywood’s favourite hero, humble to a T, delighted fans as he let them into his world and revealed just what motivated him to reach for the stars.

“I wanted to make films that were very big,” confessed the 58-year-old Khan.

With films such as Devdas (2002) cementing his global adoration, no one can fault Khan for shirking his ambition. When it came to Devdas in particular, however, Khan recalled being hesitant to take on such a monumental role that had already become a staple of Indian cinema. According to the star, even senior actors at the time warned him to stay away. However, the heartbreaking reason he agreed to take it on lay with his late parents.

“My parents, my mom, my dad – there are generations of people who grew up liking Devdas,” explained Khan. “My parents had passed away by the time I joined films, and for some reason, I always felt I would make films that were very big, so that my mom and dad could see them from heaven.”

Letting the memories wash over him, Khan added, “It’s a childish thought! I still think my mom’s a star – I even know which one! I just felt that if I made Devdas, she would really like it.”

Reflecting on his own performance in the film, Khan remains critical. “I didn’t think I could play it,” he admitted. “Some of the greatest artists had played it flawlessly. I don’t think mine is so brilliant. I hope I played him less of a loser, more of a non-committing man who had his own reasons for not committing to love. I didn’t want you to feel love for him, but I didn’t want you to hate him. I just wanted him to be indescribable. I hope I’ve achieved that!”

Regardless of Khan’s feelings about the brilliance (or lack thereof) of his performance, what is certain is that the 2002 Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial propelled the actor even higher towards stardom and landed him a Best Actor award. Now that he is in the “happy position” of being able to cherry-pick his roles, what is his secret to success? In Khan’s own words, it is very simple: “I don’t take myself too seriously.”