ELLE: Tell us about the newest TAG Heuer you’re sporting.
Shah Rukh Khan: “I’ve just got the Aquaracer 300M Automatic Chronograph, and it works 300m underwater. But I like TAG Heuer watches in general, not just because I’m their brand ambassador. They make watches with personality. I find most watches are like pieces of jewellery; I don’t think TAG watches are like that, even the high-end, luxurious ones. I think a man’s watch should be a man’s watch.”
ELLE: So you’re big on functional watches then?
SRK: “I have a lot of watches… mainly because the brand gives me a lot of watches to wear! But if I weren’t the ambassador I probably wouldn’t have as many. You should have just one watch.
A bunch of my friends have started this club… They’re scattered all around the world, about 30 of them. They have one watch each, or two maximum. If one friend is passing through London, he’ll exchange his watch with another friend, till they meet again and swap watches. So they have about 60 watches between them, and then everyone keeps in touch, ‘Oh you’re in Colombia, I’m coming to the airport, will you give me your watch? I’ll give you mine.’
In my father’s time, you just had one watch. His would be next to his teacup. He finished his tea, read his mail, wore it, wound it up… And then when he died, the one thing that reminded me of him was that watch. When I die, my kids will have 80 watches!”
ELLE: You’ve just completed 24 years in Indian cinema. What’s the one thing you’d tell your younger self?
SRK: “I don’t have an older self. I’m not trying to be cool. At home, I try to do things and my son will be like ‘Papa, what are you doing? Your knees will hurt!’ I’m still behaving like I did when I was younger, and sometimes people mistake it for arrogance or stupidity. I’ve been asked, ‘Why would you do cartwheels after KKR won the match?’ I made a career out of doing cartwheels! In Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa I’ve only done cartwheels. And it’s all right. I have no desire to mature beyond my years, even when I’m 50. I believe I don’t have any reason to be mature beyond 26.
I remember when I was that age, I would sit on a plane and fly off to Delhi if I was angry, and film-makers would come after me and be like, ‘No, no, don’t be angry.’ And I’d say, ‘But that’s not how you do things.’ I still do it, only I don’t have a house in Delhi any more.”
ELLE: Do your kids see you as a cool dad, too?
SRK: “Sometimes I ask them if I can hang out at their party. But they tell me I’m not really cool. So now I have a playlist that is really, really cool. I sat for four days and found all the youngest, coolest songs. You’d be shocked at what I know. But they say it’s very embarrassing to go out with your father to a party where they play your father’s song.”
Shah Rukh Khan’s very with-it playlist:
