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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Indulge/  Utilize the time you have fully and very conscientiously: Shah Rukh Khan
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Utilize the time you have fully and very conscientiously: Shah Rukh Khan

Shah Rukh Khan on his association with TAG Heuer, handling professional pressure, and his favourite timepiece

Shah Rukh Khan says the only way not to crack under pressure is to be able to create your own time space and your own way of living. Photo: Hindustan TimesPremium
Shah Rukh Khan says the only way not to crack under pressure is to be able to create your own time space and your own way of living. Photo: Hindustan Times

Few brand ambassadors have come to represent a brand so thoroughly in the way that Shah Rukh Khan has flown the TAG Heuer flag in India. We recently spoke to the actor, over email, about his association with TAG Heuer, the brand’s latest ad campaign, professional pressure, and his favourite timepiece. Edited excerpts:

‘Don’t Crack Under Pressure’. What are your views on TAG Heuer’s new ad campaign?

Actually, long before I became the brand ambassador for TAG Heuer, one of the nicest lines I adopted in my own life was don’t crack under pressure. It’s easier said than done and there are few things that should happen to a person so they don’t crack under pressure. There has to be patience. There has to be belief. There has to be truth that you think you can create. Not just follow what others have made for you, because if you’re going to follow conventions and go by what people say or do around you, I think you do crack under pressure.

The only way not to crack under pressure is to be able to create your own time space and your own way of living.

I think it’s a great philosophy of life and it’s a great line to live by.

Being a superstar, do you face any pressure? If yes, what kind of pressures? And how do you cope with it?

I don’t know. It’s the line of work I’m in. I can’t differentiate between pressure and the lack of it anymore. Perhaps because I am in a field that is both creative and commercial. If you’re just creative it’s wonderful. You do what you feel like. You’re free flowing whether it sells or not. But if you’re in a creative field that is commercial, like film making, things are very different. Here you have got to create some kind of artistic newness every time. But you also have to make sure that it doesn’t take away too much from the path of what is commercially viable.

So in those situations each decision you take matters. From the smallest one about a song in a film to the story that you choose to depict, to the kind of budgets you keep for a film to the way you market, all build pressure. And if you fail, you don’t just lose a lot of money, but you also let down so many people. So there is never a lack of pressure. That is simply how this business is.

I’d like to believe we are like coal that is under pressure all the time, and hopefully we turn into diamonds on the Friday our film releases.

What is your favourite TAG Heuer Collection? Your favourite timepiece?

There are a number of pieces. I don’t remember the name but there is one watch that must be at least 20 years old. I bought it a long time ago in New York and I’ve always had it. Then I once saw a watch on a gentleman who was working with TAG Heuer. I loved it. So I took his watch!

I like the V4, like the one I am wearing now. But I like the V4 with the blue subdials. But they don’t make them anymore. Out of the current models, I think I really like the Titanium V4. But I am keeping my eyes open for one of those old V4s with the blue dials. If they don’t make them any more I am definitely going to find one somewhere, or steal it from someone who has it in a collection. Or I’ll track down someone at TAG Heuer who still wears it. One day.

The Carrera is also a good watch. You can wear it with a suit, or you can wear it with jeans. I like it. It is a basic watch. It does nothing special. It just tells you the time…and it tells you that you’re wearing a good watch.

How do you view your watch? Is it something you use to keep track of your daily appointments? An accessory? Or a form of jewellery for a man?

No, I don’t think jewellery on men is a good idea. That is what I feel personally. I’ve done it in films and I have a lot of friends who wear jewellery, and I think it looks fantastic on them.

For me personally…I’m not into jewellery of any kind. So why do I wear a watch? You mention all those uses, but I wear my watches because I think they look nice with my white t-shirt and blue jeans. And my TAGs look nice with a suit too.

Earlier my eyes were weak so I couldn’t tell the time with a watch. But now I can. So I do use it to tell the time. That is it. Appearance and time. I don’t think a watch should be an extension of your fashion wear or your jewellery or your manhood. I think it should just be a part of your personality.

What is your personal philosophy about time? Do you grab it and control it? Or do you have another approach?

I think if you set out to be a “time changer", you’ll never be able to change time. You’ll be one of those people who are controlled by time.

I think what you need to do when it comes to time is keep it very, very simple. Utilize the time given to you. I believe in it that sincerely. I work round the clock. I think even when I’m sleeping. My mind never stops.

Because I truly believe that we have much less time than we think we have. And time is the one aspect in life that you cannot control. My father used to say this in Urdu, so I’ll say it in Urdu: “Waqt ki choti age hoti hai".

If you think of time as a lady, her ponytail is not at the back, but in the front. So if you wait for her to go in front of you—agar uske guzarne ka intazaar karoge—you’ll never be able to catch it.

So, in my opinion, you don’t become time changer in that sense. You make the most of it. You utilize the time you have fully and very conscientiously.

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Published: 27 Mar 2015, 09:33 AM IST
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