Blame it on top of mind awareness but with all due respects to the original Don, New India’s average multiplex goer will echo SRK’s sentiment. While the purists can harp aloud terms like “over-indulgence”, “lack of authenticity” and “mutilated copy of the superior original”, nobody can deny that Farhan Akhtar’s Don Reloaded is taking the box office by storm. Trade guru Amod Mehra says, “Don took a fantastic 85 per cent opening in the pre Diwali days, traditionally not considered good for business. Though the film has dropped in the second week, it’s a safe film. Yet another hit to Shah Rukh Khan’s name.”

The Man in Mannat is delighted. “I feel very thrilled whenever a film does well but this time it’s a little bit more than that,” he confesses. SRK’s latest report card hasn’t been very pretty with two big budget blips in Swades and Paheli. And even though Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (KANK) earned impressive box office returns, his crabby rendition of Dev Saran earned him scathing public opinion.

Today, he can analyse why his loyal fan base started gunning for him after KANK. “The character of KANK did not fail, the actor did,” he confesses with sincerity. He had reservations, he now admits, about the flawed Dev but he felt that he would be able to pull it off. “Maybe I just couldn’t portray him right. I’ve worked enough to tell the difference between good and bad.”

The success of Don is a pointed reminder of the power SRK yields on the box office. The joke in tinsel town is that every month, they write SRK’s obit but he manages to resurrect himself. “I’m cool with all the debate and talk. This shows that either my films or me is important. And since I’m aware of that, I understand that all this will come for a price. So some amount of negativity is to be expected,” he philosophises.

But the generosity vanishes when he talks about the biting reviews Don got. “Reviewers can tear the film apart but they can’t tell the audience to not to go and watch the film. They can say that the film fell short in various departments but they can’t make people’s decisions. I mean who are they?” he asks.

Considering he harbours such strong sentiments, no wonder then that Don’s post release publicity blitz—full-page ads screaming, “Don ke critics ki galti yeh hai ki woh Don ke critics hain,”—has sparked a new controversy. “It’s all about having a sense of humour,” says SRK. “It’s like, if you think my film is not good enough, I think you are not good enough. We are still playing with the brand and this is how Don would have reacted,” he laughs.

SRK admits to being wary when approached for the role. “I didn’t want to let the original down,” he confesses. But he decided to go for it when his son Aryan condescendingly told him that he wouldn’t be able to pull off an action role. “Aryan didn’t think my kicks were good enough so I wanted to prove a point,” he laughs.

Today when he sees Aryan dancing on his Khaike..., he is glad he did the film. As to whether or not the original Don liked it, SRK humbly says, “Well, I think Amitji liked it. He’s too much of a gentleman to say anything bad and just said, “Sir, aapne toh achcha kaam kiya,” he imitates the famous baritone. So far so good. With the King turning 41 now (November 2 was the happy birthday!), SRK wants to consolidate his empire. “I just want to do lots of films. I’m feeling healthy so I want to make the most of it. I would like to do a kids’ film next and maybe a comedy. It’s been a while,” he says.