Hosting, producing and acting –what’s the toughest?

I think hosting a quiz show is very difficult as it is nearly a live show. One shoots an hour’s episode in one and a half hour. You have to interact with unknown contestants, you are time-bound and then there are questions and answers. The central focus is on you. Behind the scenes I am helped by so many people but it looks as if I am the one who is wielding the baton. Lot of money is riding on you and on the show, so in turn you have the responsibility of making it a success. If you ask me then I just work for two parties, one is the channel and the other is the audience.

Do you think you have been lucky to have got so much success?

I would say I have worked hard to reach the position where I am today. I try to do better everyday. Luck takes away from the hard work invested by people. I think I am someone who has been in the right place at the right time. I had enjoyed my failures at the same time. I think if you believe in something, pray for it and do it with full conviction then it will never fail you. Many of you will relate to my story but the only difference is that I have got a platform to speak about it.

Do you get involved with the contestants on your show?

I get emotionally involved with them. I like to win or I want others to win as well. There are times when I deliberately want a contestant to quit the show who has already made a crore on the show for the sole reason that he is in need of it and I fear him losing all by attempting the next question and answering it wrong. So I keep telling them during breaks that a crore is a huge amount and they must quit the show and I am supported by the channel in that attempt.

What do you think of the contestants on Paanchvi Paas?

I think they are over-intelligent. They get confused and try to find a catch in a simple question which would take a second for a kid to answer. They start thinking that a question worth such a big amount can’t be this simple. We all become disbelievers at some stage of the show.

Actor, businessman, host, father and husband. Who is the real Shah Rukh?

Well, even I don’t know myself. Sometimes when you become larger than life figure all those lines get blurred. When I am at home I try to be a good father to my kids and a loving husband to my wife. On KBC I came closest to playing myself. As a host I not only act I get emotional with them. I become their friend, their parent. I can be myself on the show.

What is the biggest professional high you have experienced?

Currently hosting Paanchvi Paass is giving me the biggest high ever. Even getting a shot right gives me a high be it in a film or while hosting a show. I get so thrilled if I feel I have done a great job in my movie, advertisement or as a host. I live for small pleasures.