Shah Rukh Khan has been the brand ambassador of Hyundai for 22 years, noting that he signed on for this role in the same year his son was born. And as usual, he visited the Hyundai stall at the Auto Expo 2020 amid much fanfare to unveil the all-new Hyundai Creta. He interacted with some journalists afterwards, including The Pioneer’s Kushan Mitra, and spoke about cars, the environment, technology and the future of films

Have you explored the possibility of getting yourself an electric car?

Well, there is the Hyundai Kona but, as of now, no. Electric cars also have some issues such as the disposability of the batteries and I’m sure when these cars are brought in, these issues will be dealt with and Hyundai, which has been concentrating on safety and the environment, will look at this problem. There is no doubt that electric is the future. I was recently in England and at one of the shows I saw that they are building roads where the cars will charge themselves as they drive (inductive charging).

What do you think about Greta Thunberg, the teenage environmental activist, and the message that she is trying to give to the world?

I think this message has been there for a long time, but it is nice that someone is saying this at such a young age. I’d like to clarify that young age is not a sign of maturity or immaturity; you have had young people before call out for peace and love. This is something that we need to take very seriously though. In our country, in particular, we need to take this message seriously. People might think that individually ‘hamare se nahin hoyega kuch’, but small things have a cumulative effect.

Have you used an electric car?

Well, a friend of mine got one a few years ago. I enjoyed the car but also disenjoyed it, because it was soundless, and you felt that instead of driving you were gliding. You have to get used to that and it was a hybrid.

If you look at films, what has been your favourite car chase sequence in one?

Ronin, that was very nice.

Why do you think Bollywood has never managed to do a really great car sequence?

Actually when we do a car chase, you need to attach many different kind of products to get the best shot. Lenses and cameras have to be very expendable in car chases, which are very expensive items. Overseas what they do is, if a camera breaks, it breaks. I remember for Ra-One I was ‘flying’ the cars and the fightmaster came and he put two cameras inside the car and when it landed, the camera broke. And all of us rushed and got worried but he did not because he said they break one in every 10-20 days (of shooting). So for them (Hollywood) equipment is very expendable, whereas we have to be very careful because it is very expensive.

But hasn’t equipment become cheaper and more accessible over the years?

True, but on a goPro you can’t bring it back to 4K or put it on IMAX, and to get the best cameras for chases, we are still in the system of hiring and renting equipment. There (Hollywood) what happens is that equipment is part of the budget and their budgets are $200 million or $300 million.

Since you have been around cars for years, are your kids also into them?

It is very unfortunate that my elder son does not want to learn how to drive while the younger one believes that he already knows how to drive (laughs). I have told my daughter that I am going to teach her how to drive when she comes back from college this summer. I also taught my son, but if you ask them now, they are more into this sharing concept and leasing cars from companies. I think the responsibility of owning a vehicle and looking after it is reducing among the younger generation. I believe mobility will mean not owning a car but having access to the best cars and not looking after them. Hyundai is also going down that route with some options that they have now.

How about yourself? Have you used any of the shared mobility options, maybe not in India but abroad?

I am very spoiled. When I meet my son and daughter in the US they often tell me “Let’s Uber it”, but no. So yeah...

Hyundai has a campaign called Be The Better Guy that talks about road safety. One of the more unfortunate factoids in India is that 400 people die on our roads everyday, 1.5 lakh people die every year. If you have a message for your fans to Be The Better Guy on the road, what would you tell them?

I think loss of life is the saddest thing and dying on the roads is a waste of a life. Day before yesterday, I sat with a friend and he pointed out that I should wear my seatbelt even when I am seated at the back and while I looked at him, he said, “just wear it”. And I find sense in that. A couple of times in our lives we have been in situations where the car has braked hard or swerved and the smallest of security and safety measures can go a long way. You just have to know that this is your life, and if you take care of your life you take care of other lives outside your life as well. I would just implore everyone to think of your family every time you sit in a car or get on a motorcycle. That they need you and you need them and other people’s families need them too. Life is very uncertain, and if you are getting into a vehicle, you need to take that one second and be safe. Do not overspeed, wear a helmet on a two-wheeler, you have some cool helmets nowadays which look nice as well. I tell my fans to always wear helmets. I think being the better guy ultimately is a selfish concept, that your family needs you. You have to think about yourself and your children, your spouse and your parents and if we all start thinking like that we will all be better drivers.

Photo: Pankaj Kumar