ALL THINGS LOVE
This one’s a given, but how does one not bring up love in any mention of Bollywood’s undisputed ‘King of Romance’? For generations, Shah Rukh Khan on screen has been synonymous with love in all its forms. He has been the intense lover, the cheeky lover, the giving lover, the jealous lover, the charming lover, the obsessed lover, the lovelorn lover, the passionate lover, the friend-turned-lover, the lover-turned-friend.... On screen, he has told us all things love, most of which have made their way to posters, T-shirts, mugs and our vocabulary. From “Pyaar dosti hain” to “Hum ek baar jeete hain, ek baar marte hain, shaadi bhi ek baar hoti hain… aur pyaar bhi ek baar hota hain”, from “Agar yeh tujhe pyaar karti hai toh yeh palat ke dekhegi” to “Rishtey sirf khoon se nahin hote… mohabbat se bhi bante hain”. And who better than him to play the ultimate lover, Devdas?
Shah Rukh Khan with Kajol in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which established his romantic screen image and is considered a landmark film in Hindi cinema
Newer stars have come, younger men have loved on screen, but SRK and romance have remained synonymous. So much so that in an interview with t2 just before the release of his 2018 film Zero, the man had dimpled with these unforgettable words: “I am no longer the King of Romance; main khud hi romance hoon... I am love.”
UNPARALLELED STARDOM
Many have delivered bigger blockbusters than he has. Many have done better films than him. But when it comes to crazy, unabashed stardom, few can match up to the strength, volume and intensity of Shah Rukh Khan’s fandom. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that there is at least one SRK fan in every corner of the world. The Indian diaspora apart, SRK has a huge number of followers in Germany and a large part of Europe and America. According to a recent survey, over 3.2 billion people all over the world are aware of SRK, which is more than Tom Cruise. By the way, Shah Rukh has said, tongue firmly in cheek (or not), that Cruise is his “biggest competition”.
Shah Rukh also holds the record for having starred in the annual highest-grossing Hindi film in overseas markets for 15 individual years, the highest for any actor, with the latest being his recent biggie Jawan.
One just has to make their way to his palatial Mumbai mansion Mannat today — with screaming fans in lakhs gathering to celebrate his birthday and waiting patiently for the star to wave to them from his terrace — to know what SRK’s fandom looks like!
The superstar waves to lakhs of fans outside his Mumbai mansion Mannat on his birthday
“So, how long do you want to stay this icon, this hero of the world?” SRK was asked by talk show host David Letterman a few years ago. The man’s reply: “I have calculated... like till about 106 years!”
WACKY WIT
Chandler, played by the recently deceased Matthew Perry, had famously said on Friends: “I am not good with advice, can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?” Shah Rukh Khan’s humour extends way beyond sarcastic wit. If the superstar is synonymous with quote-a-minute, he also stands for quip-a-second. King Khan’s sense of humour is the stuff of legend, and it’s very difficult to pinpoint one, two or even a thousand instances because his wit is organic, effortless and often self-deprecating, stemming from his keen power of observation and his ability to see (almost) everything through the lens of humour.
CHARM CHAMP
On screen, his characters demand him to be different people at different times. But off-screen, there is one trait that is common to SRK at all times — his unmissable charm, the kind that creates an impact on everyone, men and women, from age six to 60 and beyond. That dimpled smile, the crinkling of the eyes, his trademark chivalry, his ability to make whoever he is interacting with the centre of his wholehearted attention.... And if nothing else, then the trademark SRK pose — arms outstretched in the way only he can — is enough.
VERSATILE FILMOGRAPHY
His image of a romantic hero is so ingrained in the audience’s psyche that SRK has often been accused of not expanding his range as an actor. Only a Swades or a Chak De! India are cited as examples in which he did something hatke. But what about the fact that he is the only one, among his contemporaries, who started off as a hero and then switched over to anti-hero roles and excelled in both? His acceptance among audiences has always been his strongest suit — sandwiched between Baazigar, Darr and Anjaam (in which he played negative roles) was his sweet, simple act in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, considered by many to be his freshest performance.
SRK has also been synonymous with certain roles, so much so that a new Don film seems impossible without him. He has also attempted to break the mould, be it in Ra.One or Fan.
COMEBACK KING
When the chips are down, SRK has always had the innate ability to bounce back. This has been illustrated time and again in his 30-year career, but never as much as in 2023. Back on the big screen after five years and with the memories of Zero flopping badly still fresh, SRK showed who is still the boss, taking over the box office from the get-go with Pathaan. The film brought the Bollywood Badshah back in all his glory and not only gave him but also a down-in-the-dumps Hindi film box office some much-needed lifeblood. And then, of course, has been the big (make that huge) success of his September release Jawan, which has re-established SRK’s position as one of the biggest superstars ever. All eyes are now on Dunki, his big Christmas release, for a box-office hat-trick.
SRK’s strong comeback story started with the blockbuster success of Pathaan, earlier this year
SRK’s comeback, however, has not only been in terms of his career. The arrest of his eldest-born Aryan in a drugs-related case two years ago was a major setback for the actor, and more so, the father in him. But the man handled it all with the dignity and grace that he has always been known for and then answered back in the way only he can. After all: “Bete ko haath lagane se pehle baap se baat kar!”
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