Acting, not romance, is my forte: Shah Rukh Khan

Mumbai, Nov 7 (IANS) He may be known the world over as the ultimate icon of romance but only five of his 75 films portray him as the romantic hero, says Shah Rukh Khan, who believes that projecting him as the lover boy is "oversimplification".

"Honestly, I think acting is my forte. I think this is oversimplification - five out of the 75 films that I have done have been romantic. They have done well, so have the other ones," Shah Rukh told IANS in a group interview here.

He had made it big initially with grey roles in "Baazigar" and "Darr", but was labelled king of romance following the stupendous success of "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge", "Dil To Pagal Hai" and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai".

He proved his versatility by featuring in actioners like "Don 2" and issue-based films like "My Name Is Khan", "Chak De! India" and "Swades", but the tag stuck. His last love saga was the Aditya Chopra directed "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi". He returns to the genre after four years with the late Yash Chopra's "Jab Tak Hai Jaan", which releases Nov 13 on Diwali.

He will be seen wooing Katrina Kaif and Anushka Chopra in what he calls a modern love story.

"Yashji wanted to make love stories. He said that we have had enough of these fighting films. I believed in him...... (with this film) he said he wanted to make a simple yet complicated film on human relations. It is a very modern interpretation (of love). (But) I think love remains the same," Shah Rukh.

This is Shah Rukh's fourth film with Yash Chopra as director after "Darr" (1993), "Dil To Pagal Hai" (1997) and "Veer-Zaara" (2004).

His real life approach to romance is simple.

"You should sit with who you love...you don't need anything else...beach, candle, a car or anything. When you love someone, you don't need anything else. The fact that you do need other things means that you don't love that person," said the actor who is happily married to Gauri.

He added that his fans had formed an image on the basis of his screen appearance.

"You will only know who I am from the impression you make of me from my films. You will never get to know how I really am because you don't know me, neither do you spend time with me. And my larger than life image is so big that if I romance well, you will feel that I am a romantic. My image is so big already that whatever you think of me will be based on your perception of me from my films," he said.

More than an actor, Shah Rukh Khan has become a brand. But nothing is more important than the acting, he says.

"I feel that more than the brand, I just try to enjoy my acting. I have been enjoying it since 20 years. I don't think I will stop soon. Till the time I get happiness, I will do it. Very few people get the chance of doing what they want to do...and very few get the chance of doing new things every day."

"Sometimes I am romantic, sometimes I am dancing, fighting...going to new places....so I cherish these moments. I get excited and this shows on screen.

"Whatever role you give me, I will make it out to be something. It is like a challenge to me when I can add something (to my role)," he said.

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Jab Tak Hai Jaan

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