Happy Birthday Shah Rukh Khan
“The first time I won a Medal in school, which was in 3rd grade. I came home running to show it to my mother. I was very excited. Very sad, she wasn’t there. The first time I’m getting an award, a major award in film industry… And she’s still not here. So this one goes out to her. This one’s for you mom.”
It was an actor’s winning speech after he won his very first award in Bollywood.
The name of that actor is — Shah Rukh Khan.. This name has more than 800 million of world-wide fan following behind it. I’ve seen madness for him even in America’s theatres. There are many actors. We have Aamir Khan contemporary with him. He chooses scripts wisely. Every piece of his work is chosen after considering many things. We can see his movies being successful in most of the cases.
Shah Rukh isn’t like that. He himself said — “I have never done anything in life thinking about the result. When I get succeeded I remember it, and forget the failure. I follow whatever my mind says, whatever it asks me to do. There is nothing to claim as only my own. My life is like an open book. I’m a see through person.”
The biggest proof of the phrase- “self-made” is Shah Rukh. Perhaps that’s the reason to be fond of him the most. He walked into industry after getting married to Gauri and we’ve not heard any rumor or scandal about him, and probably we will never.
In cricket- Tendulkar, and in Bollywood- SRK — same feeling we get. Who would have thought that the kid who used to chew nuts in front of Mumbai’s Jubilee Cinema Hall would become The Shah Rukh Khan some day? He sold his Pentax camera for ten thousand rupee to come to Mumbai from Delhi in search of Gauri after falling for her. He walked on the roads of Mumbai to find her, slept on the park-benches. At his young age, he worked as a spot boy in one of Pankaj Udas’s concert only for 50 rupee as payment. That was his first income. He spent that money to buy train ticket to visit the Tajmahal. His payment for the movie “Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa” was only 6000 rupee. That same Shah Rukh has some sort of six or seven hundred million dollar as his bank balance now.
He Started playing antagonist roles in movies like ‘Darr’ & ‘Baazigar’. From being a spine-shivering villain to play a romantic character like Raj in ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ and making the character immortal — he established himself. Since the release of the movie it has been showed for more than 20 years at Maratha Mandir Theatre. Can anyone ever forget the scene where Raj pulls Simran on the running train in their first meeting?
According to TIME magazine, at present Shah Rukh is the biggest superstar on earth; excelling names like Leonardo, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Junior from Hollywood. Teaching people how to love is the toughest thing to do. Shah Rukh has done it with ease in each one of his movies. He has taught the youngsters anew the definition of love. We show him box-office figures when he goes for movies with stronger scripts. On the contrary, when his movies shake the box-office, like hypocrites we talk about scripts and acting.
He smokes two packets of cigarettes each day. Everyone has complaints about it. Shah Rukh has said in this regard, “When I go through stressful situations, I smoke cigarettes. This life is my own. I think I need cigarettes to live.”
He has a mind of child still now. He has done amazing job as a responsible husband and father. He has bought the Kolkata Knight Riders only because his son likes cricket. Despite losing many times this team used to make profit most. He used to come to watch the matches. We’ve seen him crying and wiping his tears off when his team would lose. His emotions are authentic, and translucent. Everyday thousand of his fans gather in front of his house ‘Mannat’. Everyday after waking up he waves at his fans at first.
Whatever happens, Shah Rukh’s poster will still be there on the wall of every nineties born romantic boy’s or girl’s room who has watched ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ after falling in love. That won’t be replaced by anyone ever. His trademark pose spreading both arms, and his pit-like-dimples will keep making fans crazy.. for decade after decade.
Watching over the sunglass after stopping motorcycle in ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’, the first scene with Rani in the opening of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, spreading arms in the song ‘Suraj Hua Maddham’, reading the letter of prisoner number 786 standing in the court in ‘Veer Zara’, waiting in front of Rani’s house for hours in ‘Chalte Chalte’, the ‘Sattar minutes’ speech from ‘Chak de! India’, the scene where he’s reading out from the empty pages for Preity in ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’, the entry of Raj by pulling his pant a bit down from waist in ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’, staring blankly at the door of Paru’s palace and waiting for death in the last scene of ‘Devdas’, the dialogue — “Kabhi kabhi kuch jeetne ke liye kuch haarna bhi padta hai. Aur haar kar jeetne wale ko baazigar kehte hain.” from ‘Baazigar’ — — all of these still give me goosebumps.
I’ve been fascinated by Kevin Spacey, Tom Hanks, Edward Norton, Brad Pitt many times. Have lost interest from Bollywood after school years, but the emotions have remained the same only for my childhood superstar.
In the end, I just want to say one thing, if you’re not a die-hard fan you can’t comprehend the obsession. Never. Ask a blind ‘Fan’ what does his superstar mean to him. Ask, how does it feel to have obsession about someone as a fan. Just ask!
Gratitude, for making me learn to love by spreading your arms, for turning me into an ‘emotional fool’. Thanks for making my boyhood wonderful.
Some day I’ll be present in front of ‘Mannat’ for sure, holding placard in hands saying, “Happy Birthday Shah Rukh Khan!”
artwork genius: Anik dhar
words written by: Arif Moynuddin
