’’The Outer World of Shahrukh Khan’’ is a documentary out recently, released by Red Chillies Entertainment..in other words, SRK himself, about, well SRK of course. I’m not sure if this is out in india as yet, but I live outside India and, as is well known, we NRI’s have first dibs on anything Shahrukh! The documentary is an hour and a half long advertisement and testament to the greatness of the King Khan. It follows him around the time period of September 2004, when he was touring London and North America on some show called ’’Temptation 2000-something’’ .
It follows him through each and every show, each and every ’’first time’’ emergence on stage to the tunes of ’’suraj hua madhyam’’, and showcases each and every Brit or American accented NRI kid who claims to be his biggest fan and to be connected to india ONLY because of SRK. Shahrukh, very charmingly, meets his fans, including very pregnant ones who insist on naming their forthcoming progeny after him, and graciously poses for pictures with them. There are some token White American fans in Indian clothes, who claim to love SRK coz he is the ’’whole’’ package..looks, family values, and a great singer (these Americans never get the concept of lip synching..not even when their very own Madonna does it!). SRK very happily talks about how there are at least 25, 000 people or more at every show, and how it is a big high to be the Indian version of a ’’rock star’’ since we dont have actual rock stars in India.
The most ’’emotional’’ moment of the documentary is when he talks of feeling extremely lonely and sad just before going on stage, because he knows its all going to end someday. But the moment he’s on stage, he lives in the moment and forgets all that, only seeing 25, 000 (that number is important coz he keeps mentioning it!) fans screaming his name. There are a lot of ’’honest’’ moments as well..when SRK admits that he doesn’t quite identify with or like the US of A coz it is too big and one could get lost there in anonymity, which is quite disastrous for a well known star....well, he doesn’t quite say the ’’lost in anonymity’’ bit, but I figured that’s what he meant when he talked about the US of A being too big!
While I’m not a big SRK fan, despite being an ’’NRI’’, I’m only being slightly sarcastic when I write this review. SRK is quite convincing when he says he draws crowds in huge numbers, all of whom love him. I have always been puzzling over why he is such a big star and so loved...he isn’t the greatest actor around, isn’t the best looking, is not a ’’big’’ personality like Mr. Bacchan either...then why? After watching the documentary, I finally figured it out..the fact that he actually isn’t ’’great’’ at anything, is what makes him so approachable and lovable to his fans, and the fact that despite not being that great at anything, he BELIEVES he is a STAR, is what makes him one.
Even if you aren’t a Shahrukh fan and are a sceptic like me, this documentary is worth a watch..whatever said and done, the man is a charmer and knows exactly how to project himself..the only problem is if you HATE the song ’’Suraj hua madhyam’’ coz that is played ad nauseum!