Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most popular and successful’superstar’ in Bollywood. He follows the same cult fan following as was enjoyed by Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachan in their times.
One after another he has given big blockbusters every year for the past many years. It was often evident not so long ago that the typical Shah Rukh Khan movie releasing near Diwali would be the biggest box office grosser of the year.
I was never much a fan of SRK, though he has given some excellent performances, most of his super hit movies are quite similar if you look at it.
*Typical Shah Rukh Khan Movie:
Our guy Raj(or Rahul in some movies) is a fun loving guy, who hangs out with girls and one of the girls secretly loves and adores him. But our guy Raj thinks they are’just friends’.
(followed by just friends college hip song)
Then comes the heroine of the movie. They both fall in love with each other, but both are outwardly’just friends’.
(*romantic love song)
Now this girl, unlike the girl above is quite traditional and is about to get arrange married to a new guy(usually guest appearance). The guy falls for the heroine, but then the heroine loves SRK, still she denies/supresses her feelings and is willing to marry the special appearance star. She doesn’t think that she loves her to-be-hubby, but its ok as they are’just friends’.
(*dance song special appearance hero makes entry)
Anyway, now our guy Raj is in a dilemma as he doesn’t know how to convince the girl who he is in love with(though they are friends) to marry him, and at the same time time he is getting suspicious that the girl who is just his friend is falling in love with him.
(*complicated love song)
SRK has to be very diplomatic with the just friends girl, trying not to hurt her feelings but she is devastated because she was in love with him for such a long time and the main heroine has come just so recently.
(*sad heart break song).
As time is running out, the just frinds girl who loved SRK decides to be’just friends’(again!) with him and help him with pataoing and manaoing the just friends girl whom SRK loves. She tries hard to convince her with some lines about friendship and love.
Meanwhile at the wedding, the special appearance hero comes to know everything and allows the main heroine to go with SRK just before they were about to go for the shaadi.
Everyone starts to cry including SRK, the two heroines, their parents and all the other relatives.
Then the heroine runs to SRK and hugs him.
The heroine marries SRK!
The just friend heroine flirts with the special appearance hero!
(the theme song of the movie is repeated)
Synopsis
The love quadrilateral needs a lot of decoding, usually at the same time the characters explain the meaning of the terms friendship and love and what it means to them.
Also are thrown in family values and how SRK and the lead heroine respect them. The movies represent cultural evolution and the subtle rebellion against traditional norms like arranged marriage and acceptance of friendship and affairs before marriage, wanting to be cool, etc. which was how the young generation was feeling at that time. His movies captured the pulse of the times and how the new generation, exposed to a wider world, was growing up on traditional conservative social values. The youth could identify with the issues they faced during those times of change in the acceptable cultural norms of our society.
However, recently, SRK gave an excellent performance in’Chak de India’. It was quite refreshing to watch him acting in such a meaningful role, as compared to his rather silly role in Om shanti om.