Shah Rukh Khan at WAVES 2025: When I was young, I was brash, gutsy

When he is not working, he is in a meditative state, superstar Shah Rukh Khan said on Thursday at the inaugural day of the WAVES summit in Mumbai on Tuesday. Addressing a session on 'The Journey: From Outsider to Ruler' at the event, which is billed as a platform to position India as a global hub for media, he also batted for more theatres and less expensive tickets in India.

"I still believe the call of the day is a lot more theatres, small theatres in small towns, cheaper theatres so that we can show more films to people in every corner of the country," Shah Rukh said.

He expressed the hope that with the WAVES summit, shooting processes should become easier "not only for Indians but also for people coming from outside".

"I don't indulge in overworking, overthinking. When I am not on the sets, I don't do anything. I am in a meditative state," the superstar said in a fireside chat with director friend Karan Johar and Deepika Padukone, his co-star on many movies. The actor, one of the biggest superstars in Hindi cinema, said when he was young, he was "brash" but also gutsy.

"I believe when I was brash, overconfident, reckless, and a lot more stupid. I'm happy I was like this otherwise I wouldn't have chosen the path I did with such wonderful people. I was a little gutsy also. Thank you, young Shah Rukh Khan for being so cool," he said.