'Bollywood was welcoming, never felt like an outsider': Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone on stardom journey

Khan said people cannot give their full force of energy to achieve their dreams when they start thinking that only the privileged will get a chance.

Mumbai: Both came from non-film backgrounds, one from Delhi, the other from Bengaluru, reached the pinnacle and are staying firm at the top in a notoriously fickle industry. And both Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone on Thursday said they never really felt like outsiders.

The two stars, arguably the biggest in Bollywood, looked back at their journey to stardom on day one of the inaugural World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit here.

The stardom didn’t come easy but the Hindi film industry was welcoming, Khan and Padukone said at a session on 'The Journey: From Outsider to Ruler' anchored by filmmaker Karan Johar who himself has been at the centre of a raging debate on nepotism.

“I never felt I was an outsider trying to make myself in a new industry. I had the dedication, passion, determination, hard work, those things were in my control," Padukone said.

The 39-year-old from Bengaluru recalled that she was just 18 when she came to Mumbai. A couple of years later came the dream debut opposite Shah Rukh in Farah Khan’s hit 2007 film Om Shanti Om.

"I was never made to feel like a newcomer or outsider. I can’t think of the last time a newcomer was given a double role, such a meaty role and character, something that you could sink your teeth into, opposite the biggest superstar of the country. It is unheard. Call it destiny, hard work, whatever...It felt like home, comfortable," she added.

Addressing the packed house, Shah Rukh echoed the sentiment.

"When I came here I never thought I couldn't be part of this world because I’m an outsider. I believed this is my world. Everybody in the film industry embraced me with open arms from day one, like a new son landing on Marine Drive,” he said.

“I felt like this world is mine, this is my place, because I believed this is the world I want to belong to." Hunger and ambition, he said, are lofty words once you’ve made it big and he doesn’t believe in it.

"I also have a problem with the distinction of outsider and insider… it is not important from where you’ve come…," Shah Rukh said during the conversation.

The Delhi-born actor said people cannot give their full force of energy to achieve their dreams when they start thinking that only the privileged will get a chance.

"This world or whichever world you want doesn’t give a damn about you, you are very insignificant. They don't know where Deepika or Shah Rukh or Karan has come from, whether it is filmy or non-filmy, rich or poor. You've to find a space for yourself in the sphere by pushing and working hard, finding out how this world works and give your best to it," he added.

According to the 59-year-old, he is not very talented but works hard and that’s all that’s needed to make a place for oneself. He is also not someone who indulges in "overworking, overthinking".

"When I am not on the sets, I don't do anything. I am in a meditative state," the superstar said. The actor described his younger self as "cool".

"I believe when I was young, I was brash, overconfident, reckless, and a lot more stupid. I'm happy I was like this otherwise I wouldn't have chosen the path I did with such wonderful people. I was a little gutsy also. Thank you, young Shah Rukh Khan, for being so cool," he said.

Padukone, who was a model before she became an actor, said she always knew that she would give her all to whatever she chose to do. On the sets of Om Shanti Om, she was allowed to "thrive and make mistakes".

Adding a touch of levity to the proceedings, Shah Rukh joked that he was kind to Padukone on the sets because she was "underage" and one cannot reprimand children.

"But the role she is going to play the best is that of a mother, with Dua, I think she is going to be a wonderful mother," he said, referring to Padukone's daughter with Ranveer Singh.

Padukone also fondly reflected on her journey from Bengaluru to Mumbai.

"For an 18-year-old to move to a big city... It was a big decision to make. Those little things, having to navigate life with trial and error. Overall, when I look back I say not bad, well done." “My me time is there's a study where all the mail comes, all the boxes come. I sort out, segregate, cleaning the kitchen, checking bhaji stock for the week, laundry, running a house like anyone here would do.” Billed as the biggest gathering of the media and entertainment industry, WAVES is aimed at giving a boost to the creator's economy taking shape across the world, integrating sectors like films, OTT, gaming, comics, digital media, AI, AVGC-XR, broadcasting and emerging tech.

Held at the Jio World Convention Centre, the first two days focus on cinema, filmmaking, and marketing, while the next two days will witness business meetings and participation from the general public.

“It is the coming together of various media. We’ve different festivals, something for AI, or something else for different industries, but the way this has come together, it was high time…,” Padukone said.

Shah Rukh expressed the hope that WAVES, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will lead to better collaboration between industries.

"The prime minister himself took the initiative. Otherwise industry people keep crying about 'give us the status of an industry'. Filmmaking has become more difficult and arduous to get audiences into the theatres in large numbers because there are so many other platforms. So, we should think of filmmaking on all platforms," he said.

With WAVES, he said, shooting processes in India should become easier not just for Indians but also for those coming from outside.

"Every fifth person in the world is Indian. That means we are in every corner of the world. That means our films need to be taken there. Some kind of trade should start happening with WAVES," he said.

Shah Rukh also batted for more theatres and cheaper ticket prices.

"I still believe the call of the day is simpler, cheaper theatres in smaller towns and cities so that we can showcase Indian films in whichever language to a larger majority of Indians for cheaper rates.

"Otherwise, it's becoming very expensive, only in big towns,” he said, giving the China example of many theatres and therefore more footfalls and cheaper entertainment.