The Shahrukh Phenomenon: One that makes us believe in the unbelievable
Brahmastra has been the talk of the town. Even without hitting the theatres, it was making noise. For some right, some wrong reasons. Kesariya teaser to the use of ‘love storiyan’ in the song, everything made hype. Then as the teasers and trailers kept coming in, speculations were made of a cameo by Shahrukh and Deepika.
While box office numbers show quite a good response, everyone had one complaint about the film- its cringy dialogues and the unbelievable love story between the protagonist- Shiva(Ranbir Kapoor) and his love interest- Isha(Alia Bhatt). Even when the Kesariya song came out, the ‘love storiyan’ in the song felt like the elaichi in biryani to the audience. And that’s precisely what the response was for the love angle and the chemistry between the lead couple in the movie.
Cringy dialogues added to the disappointment. One of them was, “ Meri powers ka ek button hai, woh abhi off hai, ussey on sirf saccha pyaar hi kar sakta hai or woh button hai Isha, Isha mera button hai”. One Twitter user, reacting to the movie, wrote, “Unrealistic love story is the only flaw in the first half apart from that this movie will run from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.” Another wrote, “Unfortunately there is zero emotional connect in the story, literally the lead pair falls in love in 5 minutes.”
But here is exactly where Shahrukh’s territory lies in. In making audience believe and root for an unrealistic love story. Movies after movies of this man had made generations fall in love. Lovers that didn’t belong to same class, country, and religion were united despite the many forces keeping them apart. Audiences bought the storyline because it was Shahrukh falling for these girls and simultaneously making the audience fall for him.
One such movie was Veer Zara which was an epic love story. One that centered around an Indian army pilot named Veer falling in love with a Pakistani girl named Zara and getting imprisoned in Pakistan for life due to spying accusations that he never disputed because of his love for Zara. The entire plot line is believable and stood the test of time only because you believe the man playing it.
The fact that people still go to watch Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayege in Maratha Mandir, for over 25 years, should be proof enough of the charisma Shahrukh holds. Countless other movies like Mohabatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai still hold water. When the whole scene of ‘palat’ happened in DDLJ we didn’t cringe or ridiculed this weird test of love. Perhaps it has to also do with Shahrukh as a person more than just about him as an actor.
While the politics of hate keeps emphasizing on ‘Love Jihad’, Shahrukh and Gauri present an excellent example of the power of love. Unusual is his love story, where in a conversation with David Letterman he narrated how he came to Mumbai to search Gauri with no clue of where she is. All he knew was she loved swimming and hence told the auto driver to take him to the beach. It was only then he came to know that there were many beaches in Mumbai. He kept his search on and found Gauri.
Maybe his real life translates into the reel life. Maybe it is not just him as an actor making us believe in the larger than life movie but a person who resembles the essence of it to his very core. In his ted talk, Khan says “I’ve learned that whatever moves you, whatever urges you to create, build, whatever keeps you from failing, whatever helps you survive, is perhaps the oldest and the simplest emotion known to mankind, and that is love,”.
Interestingly, Shrayana Bhattacharya who wrote ‘Desperately seeking Shah Rukh’ maps the economic and personal trajectories in her book–the jobs, desires, prayers, love affairs and rivalries–of a diverse group of women. The are divided by class but united in fandom, they remain steadfast in their search for intimacy, independence and fun. Embracing Hindi film idol Shah Rukh Khan allows them a small respite from an oppressive culture, a fillip to their fantasies of a friendlier masculinity in Indian men. (Source: Amazon)
Make no mistake of assuming that this article has been written by a fan. I purely am a person that understands the power this man holds on over millions and billions, which he is fully aware of too. In TED Talks India: Nayi Soch, he says “I sell dreams, and I peddle love to millions of people,”. It is also this “I know who I am” attitude of him that makes him what he is in a way. All in all, the King Khan is truly and undisputedly one of the greatest rulers of heart there was, is and ever will be.
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