I am the Indian for all ages, says Shah Rukh Khan

New Delhi: Calling himself 'the Indian for all ages', superstar Shah Rukh Khan finally opened up about the personal and professional challenges he faced in the past five years.

The actor, who made a spectacular return to the big screen last year with three hits in Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki, received the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023 here on Wednesday evening.

"I don't feel like the Indian of the Year. I feel I've been the Indian of all the years gone by. I will be the Indian for all the years to come. I'm actually the Indian for all ages," Shah Rukh said in his speech.

He also thanked the audiences for turning up to watch his films in hordes.

"Some of you may have not even liked them (films) but I hope deep down inside you came there to support me and my family. I bow down to you and thank you for bringing cheer to my family and making me the star I am, yet again,' Shah Rukh said as he dedicated the award to his family, which went through a lot of ups and downs in the recent past.

Shah Rukh had taken a break post the release of 'Zero' in 2018 after some of his films didn't do well at the box office. Tough times also hit home when his eldest son Aryan Khan was arrested in connection with the Mumbai cruise drugs case in 2021 and spent 22 days in jail.

The family was under intense media scrutiny during this time. In 2022, Aryan was cleared of all charges.

Shah Rukh, 58, spoke about how life hit him at a time when he was going through a professional slump.

"The last four-five years have been a bit of a ride for me and my family. I'm sure for some of you also because of Covid. Most of my films flopped, lots of analysts started writing my death knell."

"And then, at a personal (level), a little bit of bothersome and unpleasant things also happened, to say the least, which made me learn a lesson: keep quiet and work hard with dignity," he added.

While he called himself 'impetuous', like a modern-day actor, and someone who sometimes takes bad decisions, Shah Rukh said he believes that 'goodness begets goodness'.

"I'm a guy who's hopeful and tells happy stories. The heroes I play do good things, they give hope and happiness. If I play a bad guy, I make sure he suffers a lot, that he dies a dog's death. Because I believe goodness begets goodness and badness deserves a kick in the backside."

Quoting the popular dialogue "Picture abhi baaqi hai mere dost" from Om Shanti Om, Shah Rukh said it is during the testing times that one needs to be a hopeful, happy and an honest storyteller.

"When you think all is good, life will come and hit you, topple your apple cart. And this is the time that you need to be a hopeful, happy and honest storyteller. Think of it as a nasty plot twist, not the story you are living. And 100 per cent that's not how stories end. 'Picture abhi baaqi hai' (The show's not over yet)."

He also said he was 'hungry' and 'hungrier', reminding viewers of the line that his character Vikram Rathore from 'Jawan' utters at a crucial moment in the story.

Shah Rukh said he was scared before the release of Pathaan in January last year as movie making is all he knows. He joked that during the pandemic he learned to cook Italian cuisine just in case his career in movies didn't work.

"It's not a comeback, it is actually the reiteration of the fact that I belong and should continue to act and not learn how to make pasta and pizza," he said.

There are thousands of people behind the success of his films, Shah Rukh said as he praised his Jawan music composer Anirudh Ravichander, who received the Youth Icon Award at the event, and the filmmakers of all three movies.

The actor, who made his film debut with 1992's Deewana, kept joking about how his family had warned him to not be 'brash and cocky'. But witty as the actor is known to be, Shah Rukh kept making jokes about how he continues to rule both hearts and box office.

"It's been a long time since I won an award. I had started thinking that I was doomed or destined to win one of these lifetime achievement awards at these loud and colourful TV award shows which unfortunately I've also hosted," he said.

Shah Rukh also had an interesting conversation with his Dil Se director Mani Ratnam, who was presented with the Indian Of The Year Award (Entertainment).

The actor said he was ready to do Chhaiya Chhaiya, the train song from the 1998 movie, this time on a plane if Ratnam decided to cast him for another film.

Ratnam, then, joked that the actor would have to buy a plane first, to which the actor quipped, "Mani, let me just tell you, the way my films are going... this plane is not far away. I’m coming!"

At the end of the event, Shah Rukh also shook a leg with a capella group Voctronica, who performed a medley of the star's songs such as Chhaiya Chaiyya, Kal Ho Na Ho, Tumse Milke, and Chaleya as a tribute to the actor.

The actor clicked photos with the rescue workers and rat miners of the Uttarakashi tunnel rescue and ISRO team behind the Chandrayaan 3, who were also recognised at the event.