After Davos award, Shah Rukh says Bollywood beyond song-and-dance movies, and is India's soft power

The King of Bollywood doesn't fail to impress us. After a thought-provoking interview about women empowerment at the World Economic Forum in Davos, ET Now caught up with Shah Rukh Khan to understand the business of Indian cinema.
The 52-year-old superstar, who was feted with the Crystal Awards on Monday, believes that Bollywood's success on the global map has a lot to do with India's growing economic clout. He cited the example of Korean and Latin American films which were lapped up by the international audience when their respective economies were booming. King Khan said that beyond policies and business, India's strength remained in its soft power, and that Bollywood was more than just about 'song-and-dance' films, with the Indian government batting for the promotion of art and culture in at home, and abroad.

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

ET Now: Hello, Shah Rukh! Congratulations on your award. To begin with, what kind of changes in policy-making can make Indian cinema more popular, globally?

Shah Rukh Khan: Policies cannot be turned around in mere one or two days. But Mumbai, being the heart of Bollywood, has been getting a lot of global recognition. Two days ago, actor Aamir Khan called me and said that his film, 'Secret Superstar', has done business beyond comprehension in China. Now that is a great sign. His previous film, 'Dangal', also did good business there. If we are able to do that - get business in China - it is a big thing and encouraging, knowing that it is coming from the heart of Maharashtra.

ET Now: At Davos, you have been in the company of the most elite corporate tycoons, the sharpest business minds. Do you believe India's strength also lies in its art and culture, and it is not just about business? Do you feel that India is not just about 7.4% economic growth but goes beyond that as well?

Shah Rukh Khan: At the end of it, you will never be able to force anyone to follow your business or your foreign policy, or your investment expectations. You are going to coerce them in the nicest way and that is where soft power comes in. Many years ago, I had a theory ago that whichever films you start seeing of international cinema, you will soon find those making it to your house.

ET Now: You ever want to go on holidays to those destinations, the ones you saw in those international films?

Shah Rukh Khan: About 15 years ago, we all started watching Kung-fu films. Bruce Lee was a rage, and suddenly everybody wanted to do kung-fu. Through kung-fu films, we were actually witnessing the emergence of the Chinese economy.

Similarly, a few years ago, all Korean films and series were much talked about. That, certainly, was the emergence of the South Korean economy that was booming in the past decade.

Then in the middle somewhere, all South American films - Pedro Almodóvar and others - took over. We were watching all these artistic films because those economies were growing. Whether they sustained or not, I think somewhere we have to accept the fact that when people are watching films from India, they are not just watching a song-and-dance movie, but they are watching us as a whole.

I think the Indian film industry is a set of extremely intelligent, talented and artistic people, and Indian films are being liked abroad. When I was speaking at Ted Talks, the audience asked me to strike a filmy pose. But at the same time, they also asked me some really nice things about my country, and they are impressed with India, thanks to what's shown in our films.

(Chuckles) I am not saying that 'song-and-dance' films defines my country, but somewhere it does showcase culture to an international audience in a language that they are beginning to understand.