My mother sent me to audition for Fauji, but didn't live to see my work: SRK
The actor touched down on several topics while addressing the IIM- Bangalore alumni.
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-12-12 10:36 GMT
Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s premier B-school was a different setting for Bollywood’s Badshah, but Shah Rukh Khan on Friday evening still did what he's best at -- charming IIM-Bangalore alumni with his wit and humour as he held the stage for over an hour, and left the audience begging for more.
Khan was speaking at the inauguration of IIM-Bangalore’s alumni conclave and first leadership summit. From reminiscing about the days when he was a ‘Fauji’ on the small-screen to declaring his preference for "lady bosses," Khan swung on and off topics.
Social media users should be thick-skinned
Shah Rukh Khan said that one shouldn't be complaining and defining limits of what is good or bad opinion. He said, ""You need to be thick-skinned on Twitter and other social media platforms. You shouldn't be complaining about the differing opinions through the social media. You cannot define the limits of what is good or bad opinion...it is a good place to be in."
He also said Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was his role model business leader in the country. "I have heard about Kiran Mazumdar's story. She is most exciting and one of the most hardworking and innovative business women in the country...In fact, I love lady bosses. I don't love hairy men who sweat. I love someone who sweats sweet and no better than women," Khan said.
Mazumdar is the Chairperson of IIM-B Board of Governors.
Asked would he mind Shaw to be his woman boss, Khan readily said, "I want women to be my bosses. I hate men bosses. Yes, would like Kiran to be my lady boss."
Being passionate about something you love
Shah Rukh emphasised on the fact that dreaming is not enough. He said, "You need to dismantle the old, the frameworks that are laid out before you, the ideas that you cling to, the ones that hold you back and prevent you from growing. It is by disassembling your fears of failing and losing not just things, but people and positions, your jobs and most of all change that, that you can be truly creative. I meet many successful people in the world of business and while their ideas are very clear, the way they speak of them is oddly dispassionate. The madness and passion are missing. I get the sad impression that business often becomes numerical…it is only about millions and targets. It is so goal driven that there is a stark loss of inspiration from it. I think the emphasis organizational goals and efficiencies has clouded the poetry of creating. It is difficult for me to relate to this starkness. I feel it lacks life. Creation cannot be a managerial concept, it has to be an ‘imaginarial’ concept."
Be ready to embrace disaster
He expressed that a little bit of crying and wallowing is absolutely fine. SRK said, "Leadership implies being prepared for disaster also. And it will hit you. It could come as failure maybe or taking someone away you love. So what will you do about it? Wallow in self-pity? I do that often. But I do it in my huge golden bathroom between the jacuzzi and the steam room. I shed huge tears of self-pity but when I walk out wearing my limited edition cologne that helps. I am ready to embrace disaster. So little bit of crying and wallowing is ok. But the thing to understand is you have to accept it. Change your perspective, do a handstand and rebuild yourself that is what leadership is about."
There is nothing more beautiful than the imperfections of life
Shah Rukh Khan said, "A perfect life, according to me, is a farce. There is no perfect life. Actually, there is nothing more beautiful than the imperfections of life. In my trade, life serves as a fertile ground for innovation and ideas. We use its imperfections every moment. In fact, there is nothing that allows us to live better than trouble, so why not embrace it. And while we are embracing let’s embrace destiny too, and in my case, I’ll embrace Kajol, Madhuri, and Alia too. And guys whichever company you join or create you will not get these perks, so ha ha."
His bumpy ride to success
The actor spoke about how he wanted to become a sportsman but didn't have enough money for his back treatment. He said, "Accidents happen, I am a living proof of an accidental movie star/entrepreneur/speaker at an IIM gathering. I wanted to be a sportsman. Represent India hopefully as a hockey or a cricket player. Suddenly I hurt my back. Didn’t have the resources to get the best treatment. Joined a theater group to fill in time and overcome my sadness of not being able to play at a professional level. Father died and we were evicted from our rented house. Mother went looking for a smaller place and the dealer’s father in law was making a series, called Fauji. My mother sent me to him and he cast me as Abhimanyu Rai in the serial. Things went ballistic from there. I got film offers and one thing led to another, and I became a movie star. By the way we never took the house from the dealer, Mr. Dhawan who actually got me on the road to stardom. And my mother didn’t live long enough to see my work either). I realize now that hurting my back wasn’t an accident, being here speaking to you all is the larger happier accident. So Destiny plays a part for sure and no one can teach us either how to find it or how to chase it. Just like disaster, it will come your way but if you don't have the courage to ride its wave when it does, it'll toss you right back on the beach and all you'll get to see is the sunset of a tired and weary life (plus your backside will be sore!). So I would advise keeping your eyes open for life's magic and not turning away from it citing practicality and good reason. "
The actor wants to rebuild his grandfather's house
“I want to rebuild my grandfather’s house on Nandidurg Road in Jayamahal Extension area. I would like to come and stay here for some time. I have spent my first six years of my life in Bengaluru. My grandfather was living in Nandidurg Road. I grew in the ambiance of traffic-less Bangalore those days. Bengaluru was ‘air-conditioned’ and I enjoyed Cubbon Park ambiance and cycle rides."
On being a 'Dilwala'
While concluding the speech he said, "I’d like to borrow from my latest endeavour of creativity- Dilwale and say that unless you live by the heart, unless you are Dilwale, none of this will truly translate into the splendour that life is capable of unfolding before you. The mind is the seed of creativity but the heart is the soil. That seed cannot grow without an open heart. To be able to love, to give, to share, to nurture, to take others along on your journey with as much goodwill for them as you have for yourself is the basis of all creative endeavour, of all real success, of all happiness and of true leadership. If you close up your heart to the world, if you choose to live your life on parameters that let you forget how to love, you will dishonor life and disallow it from honouring you. There is no greater creativity in life or leadership than the ability to touch each moment that you are living with the beauty of living it by your heart, to give back to life the fullness that it has had the generosity to give to you."