In an interview with Pune Mirror after Shah Rukh Khan launched a kids’ edutainment park, he speaks about how he deals with parenthood to Aryan and Suhana, and keeps them grounded.
When asked why he has sent Aryan off to United Kingdom, he says it's because he wants the kids to have a great education and have the knowledge of their craft. "My kids can get into films if they want to. But they need to finish their education. I don’t think they invited me to Yale University to be a speaker just because I am SRK the actor, but also because I am educated enough to talk on any subject," he said on Aryan or Suhana entering Bollywood.
He knows that the kids can get into the business easily. "Honestly, I did not want to tell Aryan, ‘its summer vacation, why don’t you assist Karan uncle?’ because I knew even before I could utter the words, he would have been assisting him." Although he feels it's still to soon to talk about his children's Bollywood aspirations, he still feels that those actors are good who have in-depth knowledge on their subject either via education or via practise and experienced mentors.
While Aryan is into football, and Suhana is interested in writing, Shah Rukh wants to let them be whatever they want to be. He is extremely close to his children and thinks of them as his friends.
"I don’t have many friends. My kids are my closest allies, best friends. And I can share all my deep, dark secrets, my happiest or saddest moments with them. You know, my dad used to call me Yaara, that’s what a Pathan calls his pal. My parents were my friends. The rapport that they shared with me is what I share with my kids. I’m just the kind of dad that my father was to me. But Aryan and Suhana call me a monster!"
But he feels bad that he can't spend enough time with them - "This makes me want to pamper my kids. I want to give them anything and everything possible in this world to make up for the time I cannot give them," he adds.
About Aryan and Suhana handling the media and stories about him that are splashed every day, he said, "Most of the times, they understand because they know me very well and know the difference between right and wrong. But, sometimes they do get swayed."
Still, he feels that both kids are extremely grounded, well-mannered, sorted and courteous. Aryan even accompanied Shah Rukh to the late director Yash Chopra's funeral as he was close to his dad's father figure. "In fact, he wanted to get into the ambulance as well. But I did not want him to experience death so closely."
Like any father, Shah Rukh is protective of Suhana but feels that she is now old enough to handle all sorts of situations. Still he feels he had to intervene during the MCA debacle. "Forget a superstar, any father in my position would have reacted the way I did. Suhana is strong and capable enough to handle such situations. But I had to intervene, as things were going overboard. But it broke my heart when after the episode Gauri told me that Suhana was scared."
While Suhana still has some time to go, Aryan is certainly turning out to be more like his dad with his tall build and good looks. Let's see what the star kids have in store for us in due course!
