SRK: 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!'

Mumbai, June 3 -- Kabhi kabhi jeetne ke liye kuchh haarna bhi padta hai (Sometimes to win something, you need to lose something)..." Shah Rukh Khan's famous line from Baazigar (1993) rings true as his home production, RA.One, gears up for a Diwali release.

Reportedly, the superhero SFX adventure has already cost him R 150 crore, with an additional R 40 crore now going into print and other other publicity. The actor-filmmaker however is unperturbed by comparisons with Rajinikanth blockbuster Robot (2010) that was the most expensive Indian film ever made, and the biggest grosser too.

Apprehensions about RA.One turning out to be a profitable venture are growing. "I don't know about the budget of Robot, but when we started RA.One, I knew I could lose money on it unless it can do better business than my last big hit. I'm okay with that, I just might have to dance at a few extra weddings," Shah Rukh jokes.

He insists that it's highly unlikely that the film won't work, attributing his confidence to the film's novelty value: "After 20 years, comparisons no longer bother me. And as for the apprehensions about profitability, well, as my wife Gauri puts it, even if I lose a few crore, I can afford it, given how much I've earned from this industry in the last two decades." The hype for this Anubhav Sinha directed fantasy film is slowly and steadily growing. It's believed that SRK has already spent R 6 crore on its promotions.

"The unveiling of the first look of the film cost Red Chillies at least R 2 crore. And the trailers released during the ICC World Cup also didn't come cheap," points out a trade veteran. SRK shrugs off the money factor, insisting that it will come and go. "I'm glad I could fly for my kids in the film. The technology we've used is here to stay," he enthuses.

Prod him on the film's financial prospects and he quips, borrowing Rhett Butler's famous words from Gone With The Wind (1939), "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. Even if I don't earn money from the film, it will earn me respect."

However, the actor, who has Farhan Akhtar's Don 2 coming up this Christmas, admits that after playing G.One, the good guy in RA.One, and the bad guy in Don 2, he wants to take a break from big budget movies and do a small film: "If I can, good. If I can't, then I'll just go off on a holiday."