Just before Shah Rukh Khan was whisked off to meet the Superstar, King Khan made time for an exclusive chat
How did you decide to rope in the Superstar for RA.One?
The scene was always part of the script and we had initially shot the scene in Hyderabad. As the Superstar was a little unwell, I thought it would be wrong to ask him then. But I was told to shoot off an email with my request and Soundarya asked me to call up Appa and speak to him. Rajini sir called me back and said he was beginning to shoot as he was feeling well. I didn't get any message from him post that and presumed the shooting was not happening. Then I got a call from Soundarya saying whether Appa shoots Rana or not, he'd like to shoot this. For the wide shots we used a dummy and for the close ups we shot with him in Mumbai. I was shocked that he came and shot for us. We were also running behind on the VFX and Soundarya took it upon herself to complete it for us. She shot everything exactly how we wanted.
You have worked with the Big B and the Superstar. Did you find any similarities?
They respect each other so much! The other day, I was shooting for KBC with Amitji and the first thing he told me was, 'I just called Rajini sir, I am so happy he's feeling well and back to work'. That's the quality I see when I think of people like Amitji and Rajini sir. Their dedication to work is wonderful.
So you are playing a superhero in RA.One...?
It's not completely a superhero. I think the next bad thing for mankind would be a creation of mankind i.e. technology. We have created a virtual world. From time immemorial, the discussion has been on man and machine. I think now the discussion will turn to humanity and technology.
Do you think there are similarities between RA.One and Endhiran?
I was actually supposed to do the Hindi version of Endhiran at one point. There is a difference. I don't think G.One can ever be as powerful as Chitti because that's played by Rajini sir (smiles). As far as the storyline of Robot is concerned, I think it was a beautiful love story and about unrequited love whereas RA.One is about a love story between a father and son.
Would you do a straight Tamil film?
I remember I had so much of problem when I was doing the movie with Kamal Haasan sir (laughs). But I would love to! To me, one of the nicest things is that I am considered by filmmakers from Tamil Nadu. Like Mani Ratnam sir, Shankar sir, Murugadoss sir...it's very nice of them. I would love to do it and I could learn Tamil (smiles).
Any plans of working with Murugadoss next?
I have done two scripts with him. Right now, I am working on one more. Once he finishes his film, we'll start working on that.
How did you decide to rope in the Superstar for RA.One?
The scene was always part of the script and we had initially shot the scene in Hyderabad. As the Superstar was a little unwell, I thought it would be wrong to ask him then. But I was told to shoot off an email with my request and Soundarya asked me to call up Appa and speak to him. Rajini sir called me back and said he was beginning to shoot as he was feeling well. I didn't get any message from him post that and presumed the shooting was not happening. Then I got a call from Soundarya saying whether Appa shoots Rana or not, he'd like to shoot this. For the wide shots we used a dummy and for the close ups we shot with him in Mumbai. I was shocked that he came and shot for us. We were also running behind on the VFX and Soundarya took it upon herself to complete it for us. She shot everything exactly how we wanted.
You have worked with the Big B and the Superstar. Did you find any similarities?
They respect each other so much! The other day, I was shooting for KBC with Amitji and the first thing he told me was, 'I just called Rajini sir, I am so happy he's feeling well and back to work'. That's the quality I see when I think of people like Amitji and Rajini sir. Their dedication to work is wonderful.
So you are playing a superhero in RA.One...?
It's not completely a superhero. I think the next bad thing for mankind would be a creation of mankind i.e. technology. We have created a virtual world. From time immemorial, the discussion has been on man and machine. I think now the discussion will turn to humanity and technology.
Do you think there are similarities between RA.One and Endhiran?
I was actually supposed to do the Hindi version of Endhiran at one point. There is a difference. I don't think G.One can ever be as powerful as Chitti because that's played by Rajini sir (smiles). As far as the storyline of Robot is concerned, I think it was a beautiful love story and about unrequited love whereas RA.One is about a love story between a father and son.
Would you do a straight Tamil film?
I remember I had so much of problem when I was doing the movie with Kamal Haasan sir (laughs). But I would love to! To me, one of the nicest things is that I am considered by filmmakers from Tamil Nadu. Like Mani Ratnam sir, Shankar sir, Murugadoss sir...it's very nice of them. I would love to do it and I could learn Tamil (smiles).
Any plans of working with Murugadoss next?
I have done two scripts with him. Right now, I am working on one more. Once he finishes his film, we'll start working on that.
