- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
The superstar also recounted the origin of his iconic open arms pose, revealing that it was choreographed by the late Saroj Khan
By: India Weekly
AT THE 77th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, Shah Rukh Khan, the first Indian film personality to receive the Pardo alla Carriera award, emphasised the importance of creative dissatisfaction.
During a Q&A session, Khan advised the younger generation to avoid resting on their achievements and instead strive for continual innovation.
Shah Rukh Khan, who returned to the screen last year with “Pathaan”, “Jawan”, and “Dunki” after a five-year break, shared his perspective on creativity and success.
“Contentment is overrated. You need to always be questioning yourself. It doesn’t mean you go and become anxious, but you need to always be dissatisfied as a creative person, so I don’t ever get satisfied. I don’t think I’ve achieved anything. I don’t think it’s over and done with, and I’m successful. I think it’s all irrelevant. What is relevant is, Can I do something new tomorrow?” Khan told the festival’s artistic director Giona A Nazzaro.
The actor also addressed criticism regarding his choice of cinema.
He stated, “My cinema stands for everything for somebody, because it should have a little bit of happiness, colour. I don’t want my cinema to be a statement. I want it to be a testament of life in its beauty, good and bad. So sometimes it’s a testament about right things. Sometimes it’s about corruption, bad things, and love. It need not just be a statement.”
Regarding South Indian cinema, Khan noted, “With recent hits like ‘Jawan’, ‘RRR’, and ‘Baahubali’, the world is finally starting to notice what we’ve always known in India. South cinema has a specific style, with larger-than-life heroes and lots of music.”
Khan also recounted the origin of his iconic open arms pose, revealing that it was choreographed by the late Saroj Khan. “In the ’90s, it was important that you knew how to dance. We were shooting for a song and I couldn’t do the step called the dip. I felt very ashamed and all night I kept doing this (dip).”
He shared anecdotes about training his son Aryan in taekwondo, hoping he would follow in the footsteps of Jackie Chan.
“When my first son Aryan was born, I really felt he looked like Jackie Chan. I trained my son in taekwondo, assuming he grew up to be Jackie Chan.”
Khan concluded his appearance by reflecting on the significance of the Locarno award. “Either give me Swiss citizenship or make me meet (tennis icon) Roger Federer,” he joked.
