This being my Platinum Jubilee review (75th) I wanted it to be a special one. I thought and thought on what to write and then this idea struck me, that what can be more special than writing my 75th review on the King Of Bollywood and also my favourite actor ? Shahrukh Khan.
-----Profile
Name ? Shahrukh Khan
Date Of Birth - November 2, 1965
Place Of Birth - New Delhi, India
Address - 603, Amrit Colony, Bandra (West), Mumbai - 400050, India
Height - 5 feet 9 inches
Wife - Gauri Khan
Son - Aryan Khan
Daughter - Suhana Khan
Favourite Drink - Pepsi
Favourite Food - Tandoori Chicken
Favourite Role - Batman and James Bond
Favourite Book - The Hitch-Hiker?s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
------Career
Shahrukh began his acting career with theatre. After doing very well there, he made way into television serials. Some of his serials like Circus and Fauji are one of the best in the history of Indian Television. His brilliant performance as Abhimanyu in the serial Fauji is still fresh in everyone?s mind. After playing a successful innings on the small screen and making a place in the common Indian?s heart, he made his debut on the big screen. The talent was there for everyone to see and as time passed by he kept on climbing the ladders of success to finally reach where he is today ? at the top!
Just like Shahrukh has a large number of fans in the same way he has a large number of critics too, who don?t let go of any chance to put him down. But hats off to the King Khan who maintained the faith in his talent and the strong willpower to succeed. He never let the rude remarks bother his work one bit.
I confess Shahrukh isn?t a perfect actor. He is way behind the likes of Aamir Khan, Naseruddin Shah, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Hassan, Dilip Kumar etc as far as versatility goes. He may not be a better actor than them, but he is certainly a better hero than them! He is the hero of the common masses. You can see huge gatherings outside the theatre if it?s a Shahrukh Khan movie. There are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, people attach with him. He is the mirror of a common man. He is not the larger than life character, which so many other actors are. He is your simple & sweet boy-next-door, who may not be able to fight with 20 goons. He may get beaten up by a Suniel Shetty losing a lot of blood. He is not your tough Rambo or as Amitabh said in one of his movies, Mard ko kabhi dard nahin hota (men don?t get hurt). In real life Mard ko bhee dard hota hai aur woh bhee rota hai (men too do get hurt and cry as well). This is the real life character that Shahrukh plays who cries at his sorrows and enjoys the small delights of life just like a young kid enjoys an ice cream!
Another reason that I find him better than all the above-mentioned actors is that he completely involves the audience in the movie. He has the power and the ability to move the audience. He can bring tears into the eyes of most stonehearted people with his acting. I don?t know about you, but at least I did cry in almost all his movies from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kal Ho Naa No, Devdas, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Veer-Zara to Swades. Not once, not twice, but he has moved the audience time and again, with his power-packed performances.
A complete actor is not the one who just has a great acting talent or versatility but a complete actor is the one who can stir the viewers (which itself is the basic purpose of acting) and in that regard no one can beat Shahrukh! And still for the critics who claim that he isn?t a versatile actor I suggest you watch his latest flick Swades, which has brought out the real artist in him. Even in movies like Darr, Anjaam, Baazigar, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Asoka & Devdas he has proved his versatility. Which other actor in today?s date can play the role of Devdas better than Shahrukh? The answer is very simple indeed ? none!
(Although I would have liked to describe more about Shahrukh?s glittering career, but since the space is limited and I want to cover every aspect of this great personality, thus, lets move on to his personal life.)
-----Personal Life
Shahrukh?s parents had a love marriage. His mother met with an accident and his father (who was in the hospital for some work) gave her blood to save her life. Soon, they fell in love and even though his father was eleven years older than his mother, yet they went on to get married. Shahrukh?s parents always treated him more as a buddy than as a child. They never stopped him from doing anything as long as he was doing well academically which he obviously was. They encouraged him to face his own problems.
Shahrukh really respects women and treats them in a gentle way & he has inherited this quality from his father. Once he blew off someone?s letterbox. It was a South Indian family and the South Indian lady came to his father saying, ?Your son troubles my daughter.? His father replied back, ?If she is as pretty as you are and if I was as young as him, I?d probably do the same thing.? He said it in such a nice and gentle way that the woman started laughing. Thus, his father has inherited him not only respect for women but sense of humour too.
His father died in 1981 of Cancer and he didn?t shed a tear. He thought it was very macho. He was one of the pallbearers and thought he had become a young big man. But he felt cheated even though his father had prepared him for his death. It was his mother?s death that made him realize nothing is permanent in this world. It was the most painful moment for him when his mother died in his arms. That was the first time he prayed to God, he badly wanted him to save his mother, still she died. He cried a lot that day. But after his mother?s death, nothing else can shock him. He says if he can live without his mother, he can live without money, fame and stardom as well!
His marriage with Gauri wasn?t that easy either. It was a total DDLJ scenario. Gauri was from a Punjabi family and they were not ready to accept Shahrukh. Still Gauri was determined to marry him and she went against everyone?s wishes. Slowly but surely, he won everyone?s heart in her family. He used to take her cousins to discos and throw parties for her relatives. And finally, he won over her parents as well! Though, Gauri’s mother stopped eating for several days after her marriage. Shahrukh really loves Gauri a lot and all the directors very well know that he won?t do a kissing scene, since Gauri may not like it!
(Sorry Guys! The space is over! I still had so much more to tell you about his personal life. I guess this review didn?t prove to be that special. I really can?t do justice to such a great personality in just 8k words maybe I need 8000k. Thus, I won?t mind if you give me a low rating. Long Live King Khan!)
© Tanmay Singh, 2005