What can one say about a man; a megastar for whom reams and reams of newsprint have already been shed? How can a fan put into words, the tremendous love and familiarity one feels for his superstar idol? In which way can one pour out the sheer love from their bosom, and translate this love into words?
How to write a love letter to a man almost everyone in the entire world adores most fervently?
Yes, these and more are the travails of a Shah Rukh Khan fan. And today, we undertake the mammoth, the absolutely gargantuan task of translating an SRK fans’ wishes into words.
Today, we give voice to each and every King Khan fan, each and every man, woman or child whose world lights up when Shah Rukh magically appears on screen. Today we give meaning to a fan’s self-proclaimed inarticulate words, and make them more than adequate.
Today, we unite in our love for the ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’.
Forty seven years ago, on 2nd November 1965, an angel was born to a simple, middle-class couple in old Delhi. Unbeknown to the significance of the day that would shape an entire generation’s world view, father Taj Mohammed Khan of Pathani descent, and mother Lateef Fatima named their little bundle of joy ‘Shah Rukh’; ‘Face of the King’.
And indeed, this little boy lived upto the meaning of his name, and became a modern King in his own right.
Shah Rukh Khan has now fulfilled his parents’ prophecy, and reigns over the Kingdom of Dreams, otherwise known as Bollywood. The man is a messiah; a bringer of peace, joy and happiness to countless millions, nay; countless billions of people around the world.
To understand the phenomenon of SRK is to simply utter his name: Wherever in the world you may be; his name alone will be recognized and will resonate with 9 out of 10 people.
Shah Rukh Khan is a man of many, many talents. A man who has juggled many hats in his lifetime; a man who combines many different and seemingly opposing world views, and makes them his own. At once he is the quintessential charming lover ‘Raj Malhotra’ from DDLJ; and just as suddenly he can be the devilish dual personas ‘Ajay Sharma’ nee ‘Vicky Malhotra’ from Baazigar.
He is the creepily obsessive ‘Rahul’ from ‘Darr’; and is the diabolically saccharine sweet and lovable ‘Rahul Khanna’ of ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. Shah Rukh is good and evil combined on screen, he is neither black nor white, but is that delicious shade of grey that we know and love so completely.
Shah Rukh Khan is an actor. Shah Rukh Khan is also a very successful producer of films. He owns a cricket team. He starred in a film about women’s hockey (‘Chak De India’). He is brand ambassador to multiple high-end products. He is known to be one of the smartest, most intelligently media savvy people in the world. Shah Rukh is all this and much more: SRK well and truly is a brand unto himself.
“Nothing in this world sells as well as sex, and Shah Rukh Khan.” This statement made by a B’town personality is so weighty, so very potent in its absolute truth, that we really cannot deny the man his irresistible worldwide appeal.
The name ‘Shah Rukh Khan’ is synonymous with worldwide frenzy, God-like reverence and unmatched global delirium. There just is no other way of describing the mass, mob-like hysteria this man engenders all over the world.
As the world’s favourite superstar turns 47 years old today, we bow our heads to him in reverence, as if in prayer.
We pay obeisance to a man whose popularity has achieved Greek God-like epic proportions. We alchemize our hearts’ base feelings, and turn them into gold, so we can lavish this exalted precious metal upon a man whom we all love so dearly.
We pour our collective love into this vessel of a man; and hope that it overflows so copiously that we may forever drink at the fountain of his youth and vitality. We send forth our love to him on this day of his birth, to have it mirrored back to us on that larger than life cinematic purdah, that whimsical 70 mm screen; which tells us story after story, so that we may laugh, and cry, and sing along with him until we are no more.
Shah Rukh Khan – the fulfiller of our dreams, the King of our hearts: We shall love you forever. Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
