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.

... contd.