Indo-Asian News Services
Mumbai: Shah Rukh Khan was at his candid best as he broke down myths associated with a movie star’s persona during a session with Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt. The hour-long chat was moderated by Rajeev Masand, covered various aspects of cinema and Shah Rukh was his usual witty self and had interesting anecdotes to share.
When asked how he avoided becoming a self-obsessed movie star, the actor said it was not that bad to be a bit self-absorbed. “I think certain amount of self-absorption is necessary for any creative person to be. You are not a machine that you will be following what people think should be doing. You have to have free thinking. It is required to be individualistic but beyond that no,” Shah Rukh said.
“It’s a cliche that movie stars are self-obsessed… I think an actor is the person who loves himself the least, but yes as a star you need to love yourself. Brad and I, we love ourselves because we are stars and good actors.” The actor used the platform to express his concern about the future of Bollywood, saying the industry needed to reinvent itself. “If we don’t adapt ourselves in terms of marketing, visual effects, scriptwriting and professionalism, we will be overtaken. If we do not learn from Hollywood, there is a real fear of being overtaken and there is a need to focus on home-grown stories. The actor said while one has to be a part of system when it comes to movie-making, digital platforms like Netflix were opening up doors for talented young artistes.