Shah Rukh Khan: Knew all the NSD greats because my father ran the canteen there

He might not be planning to give up acting anytime soon, but Shah Rukh Khan does have some plans about what he wants to do when he does retire. On a recent visit to Noida, Shah Rukh said he dreamt of opening a professional acting school, and also talked about what he would have been were he not an actor. In Noida, he was asked by a fan if he would consider becoming an acting coach for aspiring actors.It was then that the superstar opened up about his dream of opening an acting academy in India. 'I'd like to come and do that (teach acting). Actually, that is something on my mind. I'd like to bring some acting institute to the country, like Lee Strasberg, a professional institute, and then try and run it. Unfortunately, if I come to teach, nobody learns. They'll just keep wanting to dance with me. They won't learn from me. But yes, I would like to think about acting schools in the future, if I can, and I would love to share whatever I can with young actors. Just now, a couple of institutions called me to talk about acting (with their students) and they've been great experiences,' Shah Rukh said.
But despite his doubts about his success as a teacher now, there was a time when Shah Rukh considered making teaching his profession. When asked what he would have done if he weren't an actor, he said, 'I always wanted to join the Army, so I would have aimed for that had acting not happened. But I know that isn't easy and never a certainty, so if that hadn't panned out, I would have become a teacher. I love teaching kids.' The role that made Shah Rukh a household name in the late 80s ' his first major success ' was of a soldier in the popular TV serial Fauji.

Shah Rukh also reminisced about his theatre days in Delhi and spoke about his NSD connection. He said, 'I wasn't a part of the National School of Drama, but I used to work with a lot of actors who were from there. Manoj (Bajpayee) wasn't from there either, but he and I worked with actors like Raghuvir Yadav and others who were a part of NSD. They used to help with our syntax and enunciation when we were doing theatre in Delhi. I learnt a lot from them. My father used to run the canteen at NSD, which is how I got to know all the amazing actors from there.'

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