Anupama Chopra - Q&A

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Film critic and author Anupama Chopra has been writing about Indian cinema since 1993. Her 2007 book "King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema" received widespread acclaim on publication. Here she tells CNN about Shah Rukh Khan's unique allure.

CNN: What is it about Shah Rukh Khan? What makes him so huge in India?

Anu Chopra: He is not just huge in this country, but globally. And not just with Indians. I see him connecting in numerous ways. In places like Germany they are nuts about him. The Malaysians and Indonesians just love him. I think his charisma transcends the craft. It transcends everything. In his earlier work the movies are loud and so is he, but you can't take your eyes of him. His screen presence is still incredible even when his hair was all over the place. And he didn't look suave or like the great romantic hero he is now. But you just can't take your eyes of him. He is just completely magnetic.

CNN: What made you want to right this book in the first place?

AC: I did a book "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge" (The Brave-Hearted Will Take the Bride) for the British Film Institute which looked very closely at the phenomenon of the film -- it is the longest running Indian film and has been in the theatres for 12 years. While I was doing that book I got very intrigued by the Shah Rukh Khan story - his own personal story, coming out of Delhi not knowing anyone in the movies and becoming this big superstar. And also in the way that he connects with the new India, and the way his movies are a reflection of so much else that has gone on in this country, and in the film industry. So I wanted to make a book that had all those connections and do a book that becomes a journey into popular Indian culture through Shah Rukh Khan. This is why I wrote the book.

CNN: It seems that in his film career he hasn't been afraid to play a range of roles.

AC: Baazigar and Darr [both 1993] are roles of psychopaths that go around killing people for no apparent reason. These are not roles that the Hindu movie hero would do. Many, many big stars had said no to those roles before he took them on. He didn't just take on one but two roles, and then he signed for a third, which did not work as well. I think he has incredibly good instincts about what makes a good film and what would make an entertaining film. He is instinctively an entertainer and he wants his audience to be happy. His instincts on that are on the money every time, because look at the consistency of his success. It's been 15 years now and he still roles them out every year, one after another.

CNN: Why do you think cinema is so important to the Indian people? Why is Bollywood so influential?

AC: I think it connects with people. I can speak as someone who loves Bollywood and buys first show tickets and sits in the theatre. I love the emotion of it, and I think that is what connects with people. I love the non-cynicism of it. It is not dark or cynical like so much European or Western cinema. It is positive, it is happy, but it is not infantile. It's optimistic. I write in my book that it is a collective expression of hope and it is a necessary comfort for all of us. Of course I love the song and dance. It is just wonderful.

CNN: What was your impression of him behind the scenes?

AC: I had always heard and then seen that his energy is unstoppable. When I first interviewed him I had been working for India Today for 10-11 years, and I profiled him for the magazine. When he was just coming up it was this manic energy going on. It is incredible that his energy has not blunted, nor his determination to do the right thing. You would think this super stardom would blunt it somewhat, that he'd get complacent, I am king of the world, what do I need to do? But I see him now and he is just as driven, just as energetic. Up at 2am and completely on top of it. And everyone is telling him to go to bed. I don't know how he does it. He is an incredibly grounded person. That he has kept that is amazing, because the frenzy around him is incredible. I don't think a western superstar - Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, men who are big celebrities - can walk down a street in any town in the world where they are worshiped as living gods. Shah Rukh Khan is worshipped. I have met mature adults who say that he is god, and its bewildering, amazing and intriguing. It's a very worshipful stance that viewers have towards stars. Despite that he remains grounded.

CNN: Did you get a sense that he keeps his two worlds -- film and family -- separate, or do they blur?

AC: I think it is impossible to disconnect the man from the pedestal. But as I mentioned, he is incredibly grounded. His priority is with the family and children. All of that has worked out perfectly. When I met him he said he had to stop to play a football match with his son. All of his son's friends gathered around. The way he explained it to me is that Shah Rukh Khan the star doesn't interfere with Shah Rukh Khan the person. He is clear about his priorities.

CNN: As a Muslim in a largely Hindu industry, has Shah Rukh Khan helped to bridge wider religious divides?

AC: Absolutely. As a Muslim superstar in a predominantly Hindu country, he presents a different face of Islam. He is educated, articulate and is at the pinnacle of his success. He is a great Muslim role model and absolutely sends out a great signal and helps to bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims. Of course the strife between them is too old, too deep-seated and too complicated to be solved by one actor, but for sure I think he goes a long way in helping to bridge those gaps.

CNN: In terms of the western cinema how important has Shah Rukh Khan been in promoting Indian cinema abroad?

AC: Huge. Shah Rukh Khan has been the number one driver of Bollywood overseas. The UK has a top 10 of Hindi movies released from 1995 -- 2007. Since they started tracking Hindi films eight out of ten have starred Shah Rukh. His prowess at the overseas box office has not been matched yet. I was doing an interview with him once on the phone and he was walking down Oxford Street in London. I was in Mumbai doing the interview and he was talking to me about his neck operation and he was like I can't talk now, I am being mobbed. So there aren't many streets in the UK that he can walk down. He is probably safe walking down a street in middle-America but not in New York.