Vishahrukh Khan waits enthusiastically for November 2 every year. He celebrates the day like a festival with his family and friends.
“It’s my Eid, Diwali, Xmas, Holi all rolled into one,” he says. All because it is his idol Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday. The day’s rituals are fixed: he cuts a cake in the evening but before that performs a havan in the morning praying for SRK’s long life.
“My only prayer to God is that Shah Rukh should always remain the King Khan of Bollywood and his films should keep breaking box office records,” says Vishahrukh, arguably SRK’s biggest fan ever.
This year, the day is even bigger, better and more significant. “It’ll be like a once in a lifetime event, a maha kumbh, for me.” After all his ‘God’ won’t be hitting half a century every other birthday.
Vishahrukh is packing his suitcase to fly to Mumbai with a 42-feet foldable birthday card that he plans to unfurl at SRK’s home ‘Mannat’. Made of paper and vinyl it will have messages for the star, wishes of his fans and also an invitation to visit Vishahrukh’s home in Lucknow, the top floor hall of which has been converted into a SRK mandir of sorts.
“It will be a museum where I will store every little thing that has anything to do with Shah Rukh,” says Vishahrukh. In the evening, he will meet the star personally at Taj Land’s End in a fan event organised by film trade magazine Box Office India . Meanwhile, the annual cake-cutting and havan rituals had to be advanced by a day to accommodate the Mumbai trip.
The Lucknow-based homeopathy medicine dealer is like Meera to SRK’s Krishna. It’s a devotion that asks for nothing in return other than regular darshan (view) of the deity.
An ardent devotee, he even changed his name from Vishal Singh to Vishahrukh. His son Raj Aryan is named after SRK’s most popular avtaar on screen — Raj — and star’s own sonAryan. Vishahrukh named his daughter Simran after the character Kajol played in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge . The Reckeweg Homeopathy medicines that he sells wholesale come with the label ‘Shahrukh Force’.
In the SRK bubbleHe lives in a weird SRK bubble and the complete identification with the star is eerie. Every brick of the three-storey Lucknow home screams SRK. He is plastered on the walls, on the ceilings, on the bulbs and fans, even on the bath tub. The exterior of his house, called ‘Shahrukh Palace’, and the two family cars are adorned with the art work and posters of the star’s latest film. At present, he is getting them ready for a Dilwale — Shah Rukh’s forthcoming film directed by Rohit Shetty — upgrade.
Vishahrukh recently launched a production house, also called Shahrukh Force, to make a movie on the star and his impact on people. Tentatively titled ‘Hum Bhi Shahrukh’, it will talk to a host of Lucknow theatre artistes on how much SRK has influenced them
“Even my CA and banker friends talk about how they are inspired by his energy and six packs at the age of 50,” Vishahrukh says. He hopes to organise the mahurat on a large-scale, in the presence of the star and Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav, who has been promoting Bollywood film shoots in the State.
At one time the organised group of SRK fans in and around Lucknow used to boast of just about 100 to 150 members.
Growing fan baseOver the years, under Vishahrukh’s stewardship, the group has grown almost six fold. “With WhatsApp and Facebook my SRK fan community has grown into thousands,” he says proudly. Fifty of them intend to party on November 1 right up till midnight. The party menu? Chilli paneer, fried rice, chowmein, chocolate cake and Frooti, a brand SRK endorses.
Like the caller tune of his phone (expectedly a SRK song) goes: “ Tujhe dekha to ye jaana sanam, pyaar hota hai deewana sanam ...” Vishahrukh’s devoutness and an almost religious zeal for SRK is what being truly, madly and deeply in love is all about.
