Shah Rukh Khan: I am a producer by choice

Shah Rukh Khan

He ventured into Bollywood in 1992 with "Deewana" and a decade later he got into film production with his home banner "Red Chillies Entertainment" -- superstar Shah Rukh Khan now says he is a producer by choice and wants to make movies that need to be made.

Shah Rukh, who has worked in films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... and Dear Zindagi, was here on Saturday at the fourth edition of the Economic Times Global Business Summit to speak on "Bollywood's Digital push: What it means for the stakeholders".

"I am a producer by choice only because I want to make the kind of films that I think should be made... So, I produce films, so I can do different kind of films and showcase it to everyone," Shah Rukh said.

Talking about the change, he said: "Things have changed, I think technology has changed. There is a lot more corporatisation... I think we have become more discipline. We finish films on time, date releases and all this was not there... There are rehearsals and everything is fixed and it is mainly because the stakes are so high. It is really expensive to make a film... It is genuinely a risky business."

Asked when will we get our next SRK, especially with the growth of digitalisation, he said: "I believe that there will be stars bigger than me... not from cinema perhaps but digital part of cinema... There will be digital stars and much bigger stars than I can ever be and I truly believe that... but it may not come for the kind of longevity."

The actor, 52, says that the longevity is going to reduce.

"But if you measure from the standard of earnings... We will be even larger," he added.

Talking about what qualifies a hit films nowadays, he said: "It is wonderful what Aamir Khan and Salman Khan have done... But I think it is just scratching the surface right now... We do have very few theatres in our country... there is a bottle neck from wanting to supply to the consumer... That's why films do so well in China. They have 50,000 to 60,000 theatres in China... and there are only 10,000 to 20,000 here.

Shah Rukh says that it is an industry and it's a job.

"I think the more money comes in this business, the better films you can make... I have been very fortunate that the people I have worked with... like Yash Chopra to begin with and up to now the youngsters... they have this sensibilities that we need to make money for this industry," he said.

The "Raees" star says that with the surge of digital platforms like Netflix and others mediums, small budgeted film will have a house to release in.

"I don't think community viewing will go out of fashion. People will love to watch things together... Small or medium films will find house there (digital platforms)... Of course, they will have their big ticket films also and big cinemas will only release in theatres," added the actor, who believes in no intervals in cinema.

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