For last few years, I have been one of the biggest critics of Shah Rukh Khan and often got into arguments with his fans because of the same. With ‘Dear Zindagi’ set to release this Friday, the spotlight is once again on the ‘King of Romance’.
Now in the past one week, I came across two very interesting statements that forced me to write this piece. The first incident happened when Arjun Rampal was promoting his upcoming film ‘Kahaani 2’. He was asked by a reporter, “You have completed 15 years in Bollywood. What is it that didn’t let you become that larger-than-life superstar?”
He replied, “I don’t want to be that. I want to be an actor. I am a superstar, I was born one. There’s nothing that excites me about that.” This was a highly impressive answer and exactly where Shah Rukh went wrong.
Where Did He Lose the Path?
He emerged as one of the most versatile actors of his generation. There was no one who could match his flamboyance and charm in the 90s and he proved that in films like Dil Se, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaenge. While Darr showed that he can play negative roles as well, the grey shaded character in Baazigar still remains fresh in our memories.
His status in the industry grew with impeccable performances in Swades and Chak De India! Yes there was a Duplicate in between but those flops never had any impact on his stardom whatsoever. He seemed to be learning with every mistake that he committed.
By 2008, he looked set to finish as the most complete and versatile actors of Bollywood and since then, everything has fallen apart. In last few years he has Happy New Year, Chennai Express and Dilwale to show against his name.
Is it Too Late for Realization?
This brings me to the second incident that inspired me to come up with this post. When Karan Johar recently asked Shah Rukh about other Bollywood actors’ box-office success, he replied, “I said 25 years ago that I want to make five best films in the world. And suddenly I realise I don’t even have one of them. I just need to get my cinema right.”
This reminded me of everything that has happened in last 12 months. Dilwale was outperformed by Baajirao Mastaani at the box-office and Fan was a much improved yet a desperate effort to bring back the old days.
The process continues with Dear Zindagi. He gave us characters like Raj, Rahul, Ajay Sharma, Veer Pratap Singh and Kabir Khan. He lived them but the phenomenon has gone missing in last six years. And, the above statement shows that he has finally realized it.
What Can We Expect from Here?
For most years he dominated Akshay Kumar and Aamir Khan but if things stays like this, both these actors can beat him in terms of stardom when a longer career will be taken into account. Aamir certainly has a league of his own and face no competition from any other actor.
Akshay on the other hand, is the most improved actor in the industry right now and is finally getting his scripts right too. Salman Khan recently said in the Robot 2.0 launch event that, “Akshay has been growing while we all have been stagnant.”
This has to be the biggest concern for Shah Rukh. The problem doesn’t end here and the younger generation is also finding its foot slowly. Ranveer Singh’s stars are on a rise and he looks like an ideal candidate to replace King Khan.
This was evident after his performance in the Global Citizen Festival India. His act was placed between Jay Z and Coldplay which is a reflection of his status in the industry, the brands are growing crazy after him and he has a similar charm too.
At 51, Shah Rukh Khan is not getting any younger. Next two years will be the most important of his career. The choice is clear you can either be remembered as one of the best or the greatest.
From here he can either be remembered as the Al Pacino of Bollywood or be forgotten as the Robert De Niro. In both the cases, the status might remain the same but the greatness won’t.
thetwelfthguy 