I am the Indian for all ages: Shah Rukh Khan

Calling himself the Indian for all ages superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Wednesday spoke about the personal and professional challenges he faced in the past five years and thanked fans for turning up in hordes to watch his films in 2023The actor was speaking at the CNNNews18 Indian of the Year 2023 where he was presented with the titular honour I dont feel like the Indian of the Year I feel Ive been the Indian of all the years gone by I will be the Indian for all the years to come Im actually the Indian for all agesLoads of you came to watch my films Some of you may have not even liked them but I hope deep down inside you came there to support me and my family I bow down to you and thank you for bringing cheer to my family and making me the star I am yet again Shah Rukh said in his acceptance speech as he dedicated the award to his familyAfter a string of flops Shah Rukh took a selfimposed sabbatical post the release of Zero in 2018 Tough times hit home when his eldest son Aryan Khan spent 22 days in jail after being arrested in connection with the Mumbai cruise drugs case in 2021Following Aryans arrest the family was under intense media scrutiny was the subject of much speculation and innuendo but also received ample support from fans industry friends as well as colleagues In 2022 Aryan was cleared of all chargesShah Rukh 58 spoke about how life hit him at a time when he was also going through a professional slump The last fourfive years have been a bit of a ride for me and my family Im sure for some of you also because of Covid Most of my films flopped lots of analysts started writing my death knellAnd then at a personal level a little bit of bothersome and unpleasant things also happened to say the least which made me learn a lesson keep quiet and work hard with dignity he added While he called himself impetuous like a modernday actor and someone who may take bad decisions Shah Rukh said he believes that goodness begets goodnessIm a guy whos hopeful and tells happy stories The heroes I play do good things they give hope and happiness If I play a bad guy I make sure he suffers a lot that he dies a dogs death Because I believe goodness begets goodness and badness deserves a kick in the backsideQuoting the popular dialogue Picture abhi baaqi hai mere dost from his film Om Shanti Om the actor said it is during the testing times that one needs to be a hopeful happy and an honest storytellerThink of it as a nasty plot twist not the story you are living And 100 per cent thats not how stories end he added Shah Rukh also said he signs films on the spur of the moment without thinking about the box office performanceI just say yes to a film Then I stay awake all night because Im futuristic And wait for someone from the future to come and tell me Bro this is a bad decision More often than not nobody comes and I wake up in the morning Ive signed this film and Im doing it he addedThere are thousands of people behind the success of his films Shah Rukh said as he named his Jawan music composer Anirudh Ravichander who received the Youth Icon Award at the eventIn 2023 the actor returned to films with three backtoback blockbusters Pathaan Jawan and Dunki But Shah Rukh said he hadnt made a comeback to the movies Its not a comeback it is actually the reiteration of the fact that I belong and should continue to act and not learn pasta and pizza he saidThe actor who made his film debut with 1992s Deewana also said he was now hungrier as thats what one has to be if they have to keep doling out entertainment year after year for 140 crore peopleIts been a long time since I won an award I had started thinking that I was doomed or destined to win one of these lifetime achievement awards at these loud and colourful TV award shows which unfortunately Ive also hosted he said adding that he was hungry quoting his character Vikram Rathore from JawanShah Rukh also had an interesting conversation with his Dil Se director Mani Ratnam who was presented with the Indian Of The Year Award Entertainment The actor said he was ready to do Chhaiya Chhaiya the train song from Dil Se this time on a plane if Ratnam and he were to work on another film Ratnam then said he would have to buy a plane first to which the actor replied that the way his films were performing at the box office it would not be a big deal to buy oneThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever