As TED Talks India launched today with the ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’ as its host, we thought of taking a look at what Shah Rukh Khan himself had to say in his TED Talk that he delivered earlier this year in Vancouver. And in this endeavour, we just happened to strike gold! We found that SRK’s Ted Talk offers valuable life lessons to its listeners, irrespective of which walk of life they came from. And one thing is absolutely evident in the video – you can see the Bollywood superstar speaking directly from his heart. You can see him sharing some gems of wisdom (from his personal journey) about life, love, humanity, and fame.
Stay self-obsessed!
In the talk, you can hear Shah Rukh Khan say it in loud and clear words that he is “completely self-obsessed as a movie star should be.” Sharing insights from his life, he further validates how being so has helped him become successful.
Not many people out there genuinely care for you, so the onus of creating a better life for yourself is completely on you. One of the most riveting experiences he shared on this subject is when on the way to his father’s funeral, Shah Rukh Khan overheard a driver complain about not getting decent tips for driving the dead to the graveyard. He then drove his mother back home himself, and when she realised who is driving the car, she questioned Shah Rukh when did he learn to drive, he replied simply, “Just now, mom.”
See the bright side of things
Being born in New Delhi’s refugee colony, he shares in a light mood and tone how tough growing up was, being born to a freedom fighter. He is later seen to wittily bring in humour while sharing probably the most profound loss in his life, that of his parents. He said, “When I was in my early twenty’s, I lost both my parents. Which I must admit, seems a bit careless of me now.”
Change is the only constant
Your age is not the only thing that changes with time, everything around you changes too. Mostly, the changes in the outer-world take place at a faster pace than changes in your inner-world. He talks about how he witnessed and coped with changes in different phases of his life.
Being wise is better than being smart
Shah Rukh shared an incident about how some people over the internet, tried to be smart and use social media to spread rumours about both his sons. Watch the video to know what exactly happened. Also, very ‘wisely’ he said that, “Neither power nor poverty can make your life more magical or less tortuous.”
Be the one who loves
Humans are born out of love, and hence it might just be safe to say that love is the only emotion we are born with, rest are all learnt here. Adding to the importance of carrying a loving heart, Shah Rukh quoted an age-old Indian saying that roughly translates to – All the books of knowledge you may read, but mankind will never be wiser about its future unless it is coupled with a sense of love and compassion for their fellow beings.
Your work defines you
Probably one of the best parts of this speech is when SRK talks about how despite facing critics and naysayers, he kept working hard and eventually became the ‘King of romance‘ in Bollywood. It is only due to his body of work that has been defined in such praise by so many. He said, “I, the Muslim son of a broke freedom fighter, who accidentally ventured into the business of selling dreams, should become its King of romance“
Don’t be fond of fake
Leading by example, he jokingly mentioned that he is a 51-year-old movie star who isn’t on botox yet. Not that he hadn’t had thoughts about it! He said, “And in this spell-binding, imperfect moment of existence, feeling a little brave just before I came here, I decided to take a good, hard look at my face. And I realised that I’m beginning to look more and more like the wax statue of me at Madame Tussaud’s.”