Once I (stupidly) advised him to give up smoking. To this he replied, “Why? Your other friend (he named a fellow-actor) likes to f…k. I like to smoke. That’s my vice.”

There’s an absolutely unpretentious side to Shah Rukh that remains immune to the hard knocks of life.

A couple of days before he went through intricate back surgery in London he was on the phone giving me gyan about a leading lady whom I was close to. “She’ll be good with you as long as you’re useful. I keep telling my friends not to be so self-centred to come out of their small world.”

That’s what SRK did. He stood up to say what he believed in and was ready to face the consequences. I don’t think SRK belongs to Maharashtra, Delhi or even to just the whole of India. He is a global possession, as capable of being our representative in foreign countries as being a liaison officer in our own land where, if some politicians had their way, we would needs visas to enter.

Among the Khan superstars Shah Rukh Khan stands the tallest, in more ways than one. While one of them is overrated and excessively lucky in his career choices, the other Khan does nothing in front of the camera or in person except be his cocky self. The other two Khan stars don’t even count because one is too uncertain about his convictions and the other too raw.

Only Shah Rukh Khan knows which way to take his stardom without appearing to take it for granted. Have you heard SRK declare he’s the best lately?

Finally he has proved it.