I choose my words carefully. I’d rather be boring than be abused: SRK

He’s one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars, fondly referred to by team Hyundai as its oldest Indian employee. Brand Equity caught up with Shah Rukh Khan on the sidelines of a new campaign for the Korean carmaker for a quick chat. Excerpts
We asked you this a couple of years ago, but it may be more appropriate now. Are you slowing down on endorsements?
I am endorsing 23 products … there’s very few left to do! (The assignments are) more varied and sometimes its shorter term. That’s because marketing and advertising is changing. Some relationships will be for shorter periods and for more online stuff.

Perhaps, even conventional advertising will change. We won’t make it so expensive but will go for numbers and variety that are needed for the net and social media. For #Fame, all they want me to do is speak 10 times a year for 20 minutes. It’s not surrogate. They don’t want me to sell it. They just want me to speak on #Fame; it’s like a chat.

I have very long-term associations as well lasting 8 to 10 to 15 years: but somewhere down the line, all that will also change. I always say this: in no which way taking away from the products I endorse, for me, this is the business that gives me the freedom for my art. I respect them equally.

What do you make of the recent drive to hold celebrity endorsers responsible for the products they endorse?
It’s important; you can’t think it isn’t. But I’ve said this before and will say it again: it has to be limited responsibility. I’m not trying to save our asses, but I have only that much knowledge. And let me be honest, the best of things can go wrong. I don’t mean this with any derision or cynicism but space shuttles go wrong: the highest technology in the world. I hope even a safety pin or a car doesn’t go wrong. But there are cases where it can. Your tea could go wrong day-to-day when the same person is making it at home. I don’t think any of the top companies in the world are trying to give you a mediocre product and save that little extra. I understand this fully: after years of being at the top of your game, the profits don’t matter so much. What matters is your reputation and quality. And that’s the truth for big international companies as well.

If things go wrong, I try my best to know. Yes, there should be enquiries and tests and checks in place. (But) the ambassador’s knowledge is limited. And because of that, the responsibility should be limited.

Does being a celebrity endorser especially in a hypercharged era of social media rage mean you have to censor yourself? Especially given that the rage is likely to spill over to your brands as well as has happened in a few recent cases?
Yes. You assume that after putting certain years of work in the job you’ve done, you might have something to say. You do believe that the world comprises of 20 million people following you. To be honest it doesn’t matter. There are people who like and dislike you; there’s a lot of vehemence and venom sometimes. I’ve always maintained social media is for the lonely and they can get very cynical. If you are opening yourself to that, you have to open yourself to this (criticism).

If you are expecting it, you have to be more guarded.
I think it’s a bad thing (to be guarded). As a celebrity, I choose my words more carefully. I’d rather be boring than be abused. I’m not an obnoxiously bad person or say irrelevant things. I have a sense of humour, a way of expressing. Maybe part of my image is a person who says it like it is, but it is unfortunate that you can’t do it all the time.

You also stay away from some topics.
I believe actors should, in any case, stay away from topics we have no knowledge about. They always ask me ‘What about the budget?’ I’m like I can just about spell it! ‘What about the political situation?’ ‘What about the religious situation?’ I really don’t know, man. Please ask me about my work. Or ask me about my brands.

Ranveer Singh said he actively tracks the brands he endorses. Is that something you do or are interested in doing? Without in any way taking away from what Ranveer says, I don’t do a job that’s not my job. That’s their (the marketer’s) job. They know numbers and stuff that I can’t even comprehend. To put it in the simplest terms, they don’t track my films like that. They don’t say “But in Bihar it didn’t open…” I am a big believer in specialisation. We don’t mess about and micromanage. What would I do even if I have tracked every sale of Hyundai? (When I ask after brands) It’s a way of saying hello. What feels very proud is if someone tells me “Hum ne gaadi li tumhari waali’ Maybe they won’t know the name or model. But to me that’s the biggest tracking: when someone turns around and says “Hum aap ki gaadi chalate hain.