Shahrukh Khan: It ain’t over till it’s over

No, I will not begin with the trademark stutter. Nor will I coyly look down and grin a dimpled grin, or flick my head in mock dismissal. I will not burst into a song of love, with arms wide open in a green and gold Swiss pasture. I will not strum a mandolin in a blooming mustard farm. I will restrain a Shiamak Davar move, and will do without the mechanical back up dancers as I introduce India’s biggest money spinning face – Shahrukh Khan. He has long since moved on as he realizes those days are almost over and dusk settles on his long, sunny career in front of the camera.

The Million Faced God of Silver Screen

Shahrukh Khan has been around for almost twenty years. He has evolved, gradually but surely. When films happened to Shahrukh, he was this boy next door, fooling around, and tragically lovable. He morphed into this psychopathic monster, and we loved his stammering villainy. It was our adulation that helped Shahrukh conserve his youth on screen. This forever young college boy wouldn’t have been possible without his fans. Shahrukh has stayed in those classrooms, messed around with more professors than we ever did, and romanced more girls than our entire friends’ circle combined. Our unending appetite to see him in New York, London and anywhere offshore let him show the world what being a new age, global, politically correct metrosexual Indian is.

Shahrukh has been a cadet, a ringleader, a village idiot, a Goan simpleton, an obsessive lover, a psychopath, an NRI (more often than not), a college student in my 30’s (if not being an NRI), a choreographer, the King of Magadh, a detective, an underworld don’s duplicate, an ad executive, a television reporter, a jilted alcoholic, a NASA scientist, an invincible don, a Rajasthani ghost, an item song boy, a playback singer, a quiz show host. I could go on with the many avatars of Shahrukh Khan, but I’d suppose you know all of them. He knows we have loved me over the years, and still do. We follow everything he does. Some even love to get inside his bedroom at times, or watch him in Cleopatraesque milk and rose petal bath. We love to joke about his sexuality, and he tells us he’s trysexual. It’s trying at times, but he can take a joke, and turn it around on us. So there.

The Changing Face of SRK

It has been good so far. But as his time draws near, and no longer will hair colour hide his salt and pepper beard, he must prepare to moult again. Take on a new avatar that does not blotch his record, and ensures our cup of love for him runneth over as always. He is beginning to move from our teeny bopper dreams to a suave adult fantasy. He’s impeccably groomed; his get up has acquired a more gentile genre.

Shahrukh Khan has been very picky about the roles he is choosing now. If he has to age, he will do it with finesse, we will not even notice the transition. It is difficult for one to see Shahrukh as Pitaji. His appearance as the host of Kaun Banega Crorerpati was in stark contrast of the venerable, avuncular image set by Amitabh Bachchan. Shahrukh was the more approachable, darkly witty (though a lot of his humour went unappreciated by the studio audience), more a friend of the contestants than a quiz master. I still snicker at Shahrukh’s old man look in Veer Zara. I wonder who is a worse geriatric – SRK or Preity in that movie. Hopefully, he is not repeating it any time soon. He just signed Robot, a science fiction flick close to director Shankar’s (of Sivaji fame) heart. Shahrukh will also appear as Kabir Khan, Indian women’s hockey coach. He’s grown a stubble for the role that only reflects the slightest signs of aging. Bend it Like SRK, anyone? In another upcoming home production, Om Shanti Om, Shahrukh will do a Salman Khan. Not in the sense you are imagining, but he will appear topless for a song. For which, SRK has been working out hard. He wants to put his best foot, nay, nipple forward, it seems.

Shahrukh Means Business

Shahrukh knows only too well that stardom is momentary in the whirligig of showbiz. You might remember Dreamz Unlimited, and Phir Bhi Dil Hindustani. When his hopes came a crashing with this production debacle, we thought he’d give it up. We even gloated when they reported a tiff between Juhi and Shahrukh. When he managed to transform Asoka from a historical work of art into regular masala fare with exquisite cinematography, we thought he’d let his own persona go to his head. Though he claimed he only tried to give Asoka saleability. It failed at the box office, and failed to make it to the Oscars. But that’s another story. With a biggie like Lagaan that year, Shahrukh bowed out graciously and vacated the limelight for the worthy. Yet, he did not give up. He produced Chalte Chalte, with a fresh looking Rani Mukherjee as his lead. It hit the right notes with the audience, never mind the return to what worked best for Shahrukh in the past. At least the story line was different.

In 2004, Shahrukh wanted to expand his horizons further as a producer. Hence Red Chillies Entertainment. So far, he has managed to keep it spiced up with Red Chillies. The success of Main Hoon Na was a good start. Then Paheli happened. Yet again, moving away from the formula backfired. Kaal came along, this time, his good “friend” Karan Johar relinquished his comfort zone of the K-series family drama, and chose to direct a thriller set in a jungle. Kaal was okay, but it added to his many faces – this time as an item boy – a title that should appropriately belong to Rakhi Sawant, if you know what I mean.

Shahrukh has been exploring the plethora of business opportunities he can garner while still at the crest of his success. His wife Gauri and he recently bagged a 10 per cent share in BAG Glamour, and will make a foray into television content and programming. One would wonder if the soaps will be any different. Ekta Kapoor has already done the kkk-stutter to death. What is Shahrukh going to sell his saases and bahus as, I ponder. Another business Shahrukh has ventured into is a special effects studio. A clever move, as India has established itself the outsourcing capital of the world, much to the indignation of those who accuse us of taking away “their” jobs. Shahrukh is spreading his eggs in many baskets, which makes sense. If you’re a goose that lays golden eggs, you’re better off laying them in different baskets, at least you have some baskets to fall back on when the cruel world comes stealing your glory.

On the Road to Eternity

From all this, it becomes apparent that Shahrukh’s retirement plans are worthy of applause. He’s had his stint as the megastar, the King of silver screen. He wants to gently ease out, so that we always remember him as this youthful bundle of chortling charisma. When his fellow Khans are sporting baggy eyes and love handles, still caught romancing heroines half their age, Shahrukh is silently moulding his persona to suit his age. It won’t be a surprise if he phases himself out completely from the front of the camera to focus on areas where he can rightfully contribute after being in the industry for so long. It is pragmatic business sense to preserve the immortality of what we know Shahrukh Khan as – the effervescent dream weaver.