Calcutta: The one and only Shah Rukh Khan spoke to The Telegraph for an hour the other day.

The following are excerpts

On staying calm despite the truly enormous demand on his time

I’m dedicated to the work I do, which could also be like giving you this interview… It’s about staying focused… To give an example, if you’re concentrating on one spot, you don’t see anything else… It’s a bit like the Arjun story, where he looked at the eye of the fish and didn’t see anything else… I honestly don’t get swayed by anything as I’m only concentrating on what I’m doing. Right now, you’re the eye of the fish for me. Nothing for me is a No.2 priority.

Not saying ‘no’

Look, in my heart, I’ve dedicated my life to the people… Sometimes I find it too philosophical but that’s the way it is… It’s the people, after all, who’ve made me what I am… I certainly don’t claim to be a social worker, yet I’ve dedicated my life to the people. Having done that, I’ve got to take the good and the bad in my stride. I can’t disturb anybody in any way… It’s like not getting angry with my kids (Aryan, Suhana)… I do get angry sometimes but I keep quiet.

Whether, generally, he learns from mistakes

Call me masochistic or whatever but I believe that if you make a mistake, you should see it with a sense of humour… I do things which go wrong but I quickly see the lighter side of that experience… I’ve been very easy in accepting the fact that perfection isn’t attainable, least of all by me… Obviously, there will always be the chance that you could go wrong and you accept that… Perhaps, I’m one of the bigger success stories in the past decade or decade-and-a-half in the country but 90 per cent of the things go wrong… People looking at my life from the outside will say ‘shit, everything’s going right for Shah Rukh Khan’, but I know that 90 per cent of the things go wrong… When those are the odds, you’ve got to enjoy the mistakes… It’s not about learning from but correcting those mistakes.

Having been so passionate about owning the Kolkata Knight Riders, even going to the extent of working till 4-5 in the morning

When I first came to Mumbai, many years ago, I’d told an interviewer that I’d like to have the ISI-like mark on my films… That I’d like to set a good standard… That holds true for whatever I do… Be it films, a show on television or owning a cricket team… Even before the players were auctioned, I was clear that the Kolkata Knight Riders had to have a certain quality… It couldn’t have been any other way… Whatever the work, there has to be a standard and everybody in my office has to follow that… For example, I’ll always see off a lady to her car and I expect everybody in my office to do the same. So, there has to be a certain standard where work is concerned, a certain standard of behaviour as well… I don’t like people to be constricted by a 9-5 or a 10-6 scenario… Salaries, hikes… If the company can afford it, just go ahead and take whatever you want and be happy… Everybody owns the company… That’s the way I function. (After a pause) It’s easy to climb a hill and feel like a king, but I’d rather climb a difficult mountain.

Whether, by owning a cricket team, he’s making up for not having made it big as a cricketer

No… No… I’m not the type to live my dreams through somebody else. It’s just that when I was in school and in college, I was more interested and better in soccer and in hockey. I’d like soccer the most but was best in hockey… I’d make it to the cricket teams because of my wicketkeeping abilities.

Being a ladies man

(Laughs) The reason that women love me is that they see in my eyes that I respect them… I’d never think of just wanting to bed a woman… I love them from my heart…

His passion outside films and the Knight Riders

I’m passionate about everything… I’m passionate about life… I prefer writing my own letters, I don’t leave them for my secretary… As it turns out, 99 per cent of the time I don’t have the time and, so, I don’t write many letters… The other day, my son wanted a picture of Einstein and my wife (Gauri) got one… However, I said let’s take it off the net and I spent an hour-and-a-half getting one from there… I was very passionate in those 90 minutes. Why, I’m passionate about brushing my teeth too.

Quality time at home

It’s a must… I’ll never tell my wife or kids that I’m tired… It’s not their problem.

Having danced at weddings as a pro performer

I may have to dance more to keep paying for the Kolkata Knight Riders! I’m looking for some weddings… I don’t like to borrow money, I like to earn it… Then, I believe in the dignity of labour… I don’t believe in my image, if I start believing in that, then I’m a fool… I’m just a normal, educated middle-class guy… I have no qualms about dancing at weddings… It wasn’t tough deciding to do so. Remember, I started as a street and theatre actor in Delhi… I’m a full-fledged performer who learnt his art on the streets. I’m Shah Rukh Khan because of what I do.

Being a traffic-stopper even in far off Berlin

It amazed me… I know people love me in Germany but I didn’t expect the reception I got (in Berlin) in February… That much love was shocking… (Adds laughing) I realise people in Calcutta love me a lot more now!

Whether criticism hurts him

If it comes from somebody who doesn’t know my job… I mean, I can’t criticise an astro-physicist because I just don’t know what he does… I’ve never tried to perfect a role because I believe there should be some rough edges… (After a pause) When I do village scenes, my son doesn’t like them because he’s a modern guy… I’ve then got to explain that the heart of our country lies in the villages.

Entertainers having a shelf life

Everything has a shelf life, it’s more in the mind…

On dreaming

Always do… God has been kind, for most of the things I’ve dreamt of have come true.

His motto

There’s always something more to achieve.

First cricket match seen

(Enthusiastically) The India versus Pakistan Test at the Kotla in 1979-80… My mother took me to the ground for a day and I remember having lined up for Imran Khan’s autograph. I think he got out at a critical time and didn’t oblige me and a whole lot of others… That experience taught me one thing — in times of stress, don’t make demands on that person… Many years on, I told Imran that he’d once refused an autograph…

His role model wicketkeeper

Farokh Engineer… He had style, plus Farokh and Shah Rukh kind of rhymed together… I also liked Alan Knott, he was so agile… Absolutely amazing, really. Later, I found Jeffrey Dujon to be a class act. (After a pause) I wasn’t good with the bat but believe me, I was really awesome behind the stumps in school (St Columba’s, New Delhi).

Last cricket match played

In Holland, when the IIFA was held there… I captained one of the teams and actually took four wickets with medium-paced bowling… Having lost touch with ’keeping, I stood behind the stumps for just one over… Mohammed Azharuddin, by the way, was in my team.

Cricketers as entertainers

India has got into the phase of the economy of entertainment… It’s not only about cricketers… First comes roti, kapda aur makaan… Then, it’s entertainment and sports as an entertainment. Everything, clearly, has to be an event. If it isn’t, then the enjoyment won’t be there… So, everything has to have an event-creation around it.

Having backed Shoaib Akhtar so passionately

I’d do the same for any member of my team…

Whether he’s sorry that those playing in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) aren’t eligible for national duty

I don’t know what stand to take, all I know is that they can’t play… Some can question the BCCI and some could question the ICL… It’s the administrators’ call and I really don’t know much about the rules and regulations.

The controversy after the India versus Pakistan ODI in Jaipur, last November, when a section within the BCCI accused him of using the match to promote Om Shanti Om

People forgot that I’d been going to matches for a long time… There would be no hype then… In fact, I’ve even watched non-international matches with my son in Mumbai… My mother would take me and, being a movie star, I can take my children with a bit more style. So, why not?

On Twenty20 cricket

It’s exciting… It’s going to catch on… I heard a joke the other day, where cricket gets reduced to Ten10 and, finally, the captains go for the toss only to decide who’ll win!

Finally, his message for the fans here

Please fill the Eden on each of the seven match days… A lakh a day would be great… Make me feel that I’ve made the right choice… Imagine a lakh of people singing and chanting ‘korbo, lorbo, jeetbo re’ and Sourav Ganguly batting… (After a pause) I’m not into this to make money, I can very well do that through other means.