It’s strange. The troika of superstars that bamboozles pundits and blazes the box-office and effortlessly breaks records seemingly every single time in Hindi cinema are fifty years old. While Aamir and Shahrukh have touched the landmark, Salman is just shy of it. As far as I’m concerned, nobody has yet occupied the throne left by Amitabh Bachchan. The three Khans occupy it temporarily depending on the financial figures thrown up by their last release. It’s a throne with thorns. Right now Salman sits uneasily on it after the humungous success of ‘Bhajrangi Bhaijan’. Shahrukh’s next release could unseat him, albeit temporarily. Among the three, Shahrukh is the outsider with absolutely no ‘filmi’ background. Connections don’t guarantee success but there’s an aura of respect when you make it without a reference that’ll open doors.
Shahrukh has come a long way. Essentially a budding sportsman, he was the typical, aimless teenager who was befuddled by the choices that lay before him. A bad back injury scuttled the chances of his appearing in the sports pages. He wanted to chase an MBA but ended up pursuing a course in Mass Communication which was akin to learning filmmaking. Theatre beckoned and he joined Barry John. Hindi cinema was the last thing on his mind. Trained in theatre, he probably had a condescending attitude towards cinema. “I felt Hindi cinema was not for serious actors. The attitude at that age foolishly was that I was better equipped,” said Shahrukh, when I had interviewed him during ‘Dil Se’. “The actors I liked were Naseer Saab, Kamal Haasan and Smita Patil. I thought they were the ones who knew about acting.” Well, destiny had different designs for him. Lekh Tandon watched a play and recommended he do a TV serial. “TV was just becoming big and Aziz and Saeed Mirza were the kind of makers I liked.” Shahrukh became popular with mothers wanting to lovingly ruffle his mop of mane and girls dreaming of drowning in his dimples. “I’d promised my sister and Gauri that I’d commute between Delhi and Bombay. Kundan Shah and Mani Kaul told me I had a third dimension as an actor and I succumbed. On June 26th, 1991, I signed four films, with FC Mehra, Hema Malini, Rakesh Roshan and GP Sippy. Four days later, I signed ‘Deewana’. I was stuck in Bombay,” he had said.
Success did not come overnight but there was something about him that audiences identified with and it was not just moony-eyed females. There was an aura about him that permeated earnestness and sensitivity. Add to that the fact that there were not even whispers of any kind of misdemeanour. He laughed when I suggested that there were more women envious of his wife because he professed monogamy, than men who envied his success. “My wife tells me the same thing but says that’s because they don’t know me. I’m not a fantastic husband. I think she’s a better person. I’ve just been monogamous so far. I don’t even promise that in the future. I may fall in love with someone else and I’ve told my wife that too. I’m basically shy. I belong to a time when platonic relationships are possible. Gauri is quite wonderful. She’s not very sweet to me neither is she very caring. As a matter of fact, she’s not very nice to me either. I like her for what she is. She smiles when she sees me which is not very often but I know that smile is exclusively for me.
I’ve never made claims that I’m a one woman man, it’s just that I’ve never thought of sleeping with the girls I work with. I’m not that kind of person. I love intelligent, good-looking women but don’t see them as objects of desire. Beyond that we’re not even very compatible, ,” said the star who speaks sans a pause but with rare candour.
Success does strange things to people. Some develop a demeanour of arrogance as a defence mechanism. The lack of privacy becomes an irritant strangely after craving for adulation and attention. Shahrukh has managed to become the darling of the press and the public. He’s forthright and speaks his mind but is never offensive. He confessed that he loved the lack of privacy. “If I were private I’d be alone. I’d rather have the problem of walking into a restaurant and being mobbed than walk along Chandni Chowk unrecognised. An actor spends half his life trying to be recognised and the rest wearing dark glasses. It’s stupid. I’m myself in public. I’m an honest actor. I don’t want people to feel I’m different or superior. If you ask me what makes me a successful actor I’d say it’s because I’m forthright. I don’t have the voice of Amitabh, the acting capability of Kamal, the dancing prowess of Prabhu Deva or the comic timing of Govinda,” he had said.
Shahrukh is hardworking, humble and hassle-free as Mani Ratnam mentioned. His greatest asset is that he knows his limitations and doesn’t try to be someone he’s not or can’t be. His energy levels and drive could be the envy of today’s teenagers. He’s at the pinnacle of success and his powers as an entertainer and performer. For him fifty is just a number.
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