I’ve been mesmerised by the world of cinema from a very young age. Sure my young mind couldn’t comprehend the complexities of the storylines and the characters telling the story, but the movies were my haven. I thankfully come from an era where cassettes were still very much in trend. And the only one I kept in my cardboard box filled with comics and toys was that Kuch Kuch Hota Hai cassette. I used to listen to the songs almost every day and somewhere between finding the reality between films and reality, I was truly, madly, deeply in love with Shah Rukh Khan. Every time his first shot would come in the film, walking into the St. Xavier's campus, into the basketball court and there, that chocolate boy charm right there. I obsessively watched his peak rom-com films - from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to Dil Toh Pagal Hai to Kal Ho Naa to Mohabbatein, love has been defined the right way only by the king, and to me, he is the Uttam Kumar of Bollywood, the Mahanayak like we Bengalis called him.
Cue in 2023, the year I met Shah Rukh Khan. If the power of manifestation has ever held any truth to it, this year gave me ample proof of it. Working in the biggest entertainment magazine, I had hoped that the man who had made me fall in love with cinema and made me want to be a part of it in my way is now a tad bit closer. Closer for me to see him, feel the energy he radiates everywhere he goes and how fans go berserk, not for Shah Rukh Khan the actor, the superstar, but Shah Rukh Khan - the phenomenon!
Pathaan was his first release this year, and it wreaked havoc in all its glory. The kind of devastation only Shah Rukh could have brought with the magnitude of his ever-expanding impact, into the hearts of the people. Slogans like, “The King is Back '', “ King Khan Forever” and “Long Live the King of Cinema '' were flooded on social media. The theatres were thronging in with scores of fanatics cheering, whistling and celebrating his return to the big screen. Never have I experienced such a celebration of a one-man army at the movies like the one SRK could ensue. And soon, my day came when the Press Meet of Pathaan was held after the stupendous success of the film.
I remember my heart racing and being giddy all day. No, gone are the days when journalists could sit cross-legged, share a cup of coffee with him and chat about life and its many chapters. This was a fun experience, one of the many where I sat and looked at him from afar as he walked in on the stage with his trademark “salaam” ready to be flashed. Smiling ear to ear and truly grateful for everyone who had flocked to see King Khan after five long years. How I yearned to share a word or two with him, but just his sheer presence that enveloped the entire room was an experience I’ll cherish forever, being my first.
As soon as he started speaking, I grasped the reason behind people saying no one spoke like him. He holds your attention by the shackles and does not let it veer anywhere. And on him is where you focus, transfixed, mesmerised.
He has gone through life’s many hurdles and still risen to the pinnacle of success and stardom through his undeterred love for himself, his craft and sheer hard work, the beams of which reflected through and through. That is the passion with which he speaks. He makes you feel like meeting a long-lost friend and catching up on how the past few years have gone by. He shares his moments of high with as much understanding as he would share his lowest of lows. I sit and listen to him speak and wonder, a man with so much understanding of the world defined him as a wise gem that his industry mates always boast of. Probably what hit me is his vulnerability is something he wears on his sleeves much more than what we know of, what an obsessed fan like me would have known of.
And just as I was reeling from the first dream come true moment of my life, there came Jawan, A clean sweep at the box office and happiness knew no bounds. Ask any SRK fan, they’ll tell you the immeasurable joy they feel when his films do well. 2023 is special to him but so it is for his fans who have patiently waited, only one thing pulling them forward, their love for him.
Jawan was a festival, celebration knew no bounds. And before I knew it, I was in for a treat as he called for another press meet to cry, laugh and shake a leg or two with us, his people, his audience for another feat.
I was struck with the same energy with his entrance that it did at the Pathaan Press Meet. A lot of people have always spoken about how he’s an inspiration to many on how he respects women. I truly saw a glimpse of it at the Jawan Press Meet. The film’s many core elements also include a steady girl gang who did their parts fantastically in the film. I kept on noticing the smallest and yet the most chivalrous things he did that showed his unfiltered respect for women.
From letting Deepika Padukone sit before he does, welcoming each of his female co-stars from the film with a hug to clapping for their performances, making everyone feel that the film was a humongous success for all the big names associated with it and not just for him are the signs of a true-blue superstar. Chivalry is the word.
After decades in the industry, Shah Rukh Khan is no longer just a star. His films have become lessons given on life and love, his dialogues are what we use as a passing day-to-day speech, as suited to the given circumstance.
He’s present in the vast absence of every layman’s life, in his way.
As he turns 58 today, ironically it’s also the year of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’s 25th anniversary and the one dialogue that has stood the test of time to encapsulate our feelings for him in one sentence is what we’ll use today too, “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, tum nahi samjhoge.” More on: Shah Rukh Khan, Shah Rukh Khan birthday, happy birthday Shah Rukh Khan, birthday special Shah Rukh Khan, superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Shah Rukh Khan birthday moments, mahanayak Shah Rukh Khan

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