Shah Rukh Khan talks about his new Paheli and the reasons why he is proud of it.

Q: I don't think you've ever done a film like Paheli before.
A: Yes, and I hope I can do things like Paheli in the future as well. Paheli is very different. I could only make it when my production house could afford to take a risk. After Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Asoka, I had to make films that were commercially viable. After Asoka, my company was in the red.

Q: Did the failure of Asoka disappoint you?
A: People said it was ahead of its time. Somehow, somewhere, we weren't able to hold the audience's attention. We were to blame. I don't think the audience ever goes to a film with the intention of rejecting it.

Either the audience is entertained, or not. If you don't like a particular food, you won't eat it. As simple as that. We make films for the audience. And we better make it entertaining.

I think Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani was a fantastic entertainer on the commercialisation of television news. When it came, the concept of cut-throat TV journalism hadn't really caught on. But look at what's happening now.

At Sunil Duttsaab's funeral, there were huge crowds of journalists and fans jostling to grab stars' attention. It took away from the solemnity of the occasion.

Swades also told a truth about the quality of life, though it was not as entertaining as Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. It's like this: A film on the life of Mahatma Gandhi cannot be made deliberately entertaining. Every theme has its own mood and tempo.

And that mood and tempo is established from Frame 1. From the promos of Paheli to the credit titles, I hope the mood of the movie comes across to the audience. I love comedy, but Paheli isn't a funny film, though it does have light moments.

Q: Amol Palekar isn't the first avant-garde director you've worked with.
A: Yes, I've worked with Mani Kaul (Idiot, the 1991 telefilm based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel) , Kundan Shah (Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, in 1993), Ketan Mehta (1992's Maya Memsa'ab, and 1995's Oh Darling Yeh Hai India).

But being the producer in Paheli, this was the first occasion when I got to observe a so-called serious director so closely. Earlier, I was younger and brasher. I just did my job and went home. This is my first real brush with the mindset of an avant-garde filmmaker.

Q: There are stories of differences of opinion with Amol Palekar.
A: Isn't that natural? We are different people. I've had differences of opinion with Karan (Johar) and Farah (Khan). But those are friends, so the differences didn't seem like major things. Amol Palekar was an entirely new experience. And, like I said, I am the producer of Paheli.

Q: And also its leading man.
A: Correction. Rani Mukerji is the hero. I'm the supporting actor. Rather, supporting actors, since I have two roles!

I like the story. I told it to my kids, in my own way. And they found it very sweet. And I have a child's heart and imagination. I can't be pompous enough to feel audiences will go along with anything I do. As long as they find Paheli entertaining, they'll come to see it. Those who expect to see me in Armani and Calvin Klein may be put off.

Q: Since Rani is the hero, maybe she should've used the moustache?
A: Not allowed for women. Paheli is all about the non-permissible things that women, without a moustache, do.

Q: You think the audience would take to a film about a woman who gets impregnated by a ghost?
A: I hope they don't go home and try to make love to a ghost. People know cinema is make-believe. And nowadays a lot of my friends like Karan Johar and Sunita Menon believe in ghosts. I don't believe in ghosts.

But if you believe a man can believe that a man can come back from the dead to save his wife -- like in Ghost -- why not Paheli? If you can believe an 80-year-old woman can continue to love the man she loved as a young girl like in Titanic, then why not a love story between a ghost and a woman?

And if you can believe that a man can be in a prison cell for 20 years without speaking to anyone (his role in Veer-Zaara), and if you can believe smoking on-screen encourages smoking in real life, then you can believe anything!

Q: Paheli seems like it'll puzzle most of your fans.
A: Why is that? It's a love triangle between a man, his wife and a ghost. I happen to play two of the roles. I do believe love stories are immensely liked by audiences in India, and abroad. In the West, there are better action and offbeat films.

But when it comes to love stories, I believe we're unbeatable. There are so many 'love' emotions which come naturally to us. A German friend of mine put it so well: 'We've perfected the art of technology in our country. But we've forgotten how to cry in our films. For a good cry we have to go to your films.' I think we tell love tales from our heart. That's why they work so well.

Q: You keep saying you're tired of doing love stories.
A: Yeah. That's like saying I'm tired of travelling in a car. Doesn't mean I'll start moving around in a chopper. Love stories are a way of life. And I do believe every story we tell is finally a love story. Even in a sci-fi film like Star Wars, there is a love angle. I do get bored doing the same kind of love stories. That's where Paheli comes in, just like Arnold Schwarzenegger who does a Kindergarten Cop in-between his action routine.

I need to do just three films a year -- and I do them very honestly. I try to make each of my films look as different as possible. Sometimes they all end up looking similar, as was the case during the year of Darr, Anjaam and Baazigar. But Main Hoon Na, Veer-Zaara, and Swades are as different from one another as humanly possible.

I don't consciously work out strategies and 'phases' for my films. I've reached a stage in my career where I just tell the story that I want to. I do my best along with the director. I don't think about the end-results. But yes, I do want to say things in my films that have a social relevance. Paheli talks about the loneliness of a rural wife who's left behind by her husband.

Q: Again, you think the film will work?
A: Swades may not have been a blockbuster. But I'm proud of it. Likewise Paheli. It's targeted at an audience that would like to see more than just songs and dances, though there are plenty of those, and I'm proud of them. If you are in love, you'll like Paheli.