The press is almost irreverential with him. The mandatory ji is always missing. They just call him Shah Rukh. And this speaks of the love they have for him. He almost always has the press eating out of his hands. The articulate, witty, intelligent SRK gives brilliant copy and is a journalist’s delight. Arguably SRK is the true King of Entertainment.

He is back on the small screen after almost a year with his new quiz show Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain which premiers tonight on Star Plus. The show is licensed from the international format of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader by Bulldog Media and Entertainment where SRK will take you back to school.

On the eve of the show he spoke about everything from his childhood, his kids, his values, his beliefs and the show.

King Khan in an exclusive.

What makes kids so special?

You know children look so different in childhood; if you saw my pictures in childhood you would never think I would be an actor. They behave very differently and I think that is the beauty of kids that they are unrestricted in their behaviour. They are very naïve and innocent untouched by social and ethical restrictions and that’s why sometimes very rude and so very forgivable. The disciplines imposed on us are wonderful but somehow they make us a little restrictive naturally. It doesn’t pain us but we become people because of society.

Till the age of 10-11 years, society hasn’t touched you so this freedom of life is what I appreciate in these five kids. Theirs is a mélange of unrestricted freedom, bit of rudeness, innocence, naivety and independence. The kids are very honest as they will tell me that their favourite actor is Hrithik Roshan despite being on the show with me. If I would be sitting with an actor I would probably take his name as my favourite actor. I hope I can maintain that freedom in my life. I try being honest though it makes you lonely at times.

How do you teach your kids?

The fun is that I forget a many things. The other day I was teaching my son bar-graphs and I realised that I had forgotten it. I had to re-read myself. I make studies very easy for my kids. Both my son and daughter love my way of teaching as I make it very entertaining for them. I use innovative ways when teaching them. Like I do treasure hunts where I ask them questions with answers hidden around the house.

Do you go home and ask the same questions to your kids too?

Oh! I have to do it every time and at times against my wish. They demand that I ask them all the 20 questions.

One is getting to see you more on TV now-a-days?

This is a mini series unlike the elongated series of Kaun Banega Crorepati. I would say TV has become more and not me. Star Plus and Synergy have been very kind to me. Ours is a relationship that has been nurtured over the years. I am astounded by the growth of TV. Gone are those days when there were just 2 cameras, now more than 40 cameras capture all the emotions at every second. In fact it was only yesterday that I thought that I am doing less of television.

Now that you are doing more of television, aren’t you planning to produce soaps?

Oh yes! I want to start a production house called Red Chillies Idiot Box! I am asking all my television friends to give us a chance to do something on TV. Honestly, I understand films and ads but soaps are not an easy task. Even if I get into TV, I will try to make soaps which will be shot and will look like films. They will be high- end mini series. I want to make high quality programs with good content. I don’t want to show anything cheap which would end up hurting sensibilities of the viewers. In my programs there has to be a certain amount of technical finesse.

How will you be different as a producer?

I would try to do something unique. I love listening to ideas and thus if I like an idea, I like to create events around it. I think that’s my USP as a producer. I would not want to hurt my creative director at the end of the day. I would work on his idea with him.

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