In recent years, I have begun to like watching movies in the comfortable environs of my home and hence my visits to the movie halls have come down drastically. It is about total control and also avoiding a situation of being trapped with a bad watch and a headache in the theaters.During one such home movie session, while watching MNIK, I could not stop thanking the Almighty and other forces that I was not subjected to the movie in the halls. Nevertheless, Shahrukh Khan s having the last laugh... again... I heard the the movie's opened to a very positive response at the box office here and overseas. And, Khan's exchange of words with the Shiv Sena has garnered more and more support for himself and his movie. The man has done it.... once again, typical of the Scorpio spirit (I cant afford to forget his birthday, since he shares it with a host of people right from my father to close family friends!).
Personally, I would not rate Khan's acting skills as anything beyond an attempt at pyrotechnics. For all the irreverent self -praise he subjects us to through the media, barring the stray Swades, Chak De India or a Paheli, I cant imagine the man ever having delivered a credible performance in his long career spanning over two decades. And understandably, he was reported to have had differences with the directors of each of these movies.. simply because they were not going to suffer the routine rubbish doled out by our matinee idol (it was expecting too much that all would be like best buddies Farah Khan and Karan Johar:)). The numerous blockbusters notwithstanding, Shahrukh remains a star trapped in mediocrity, predictable insufferable mannerisms; this, inspite of a stint in theater and despite a spark of talent (he was compared to Dilip Kumar) one saw in him in his formative years in Bollywood.
In reality, he is a product of studious brand building and hard work achieved over a number of years, and I guess he deserves to make the most of his efforts. All said and done, love him, hate him, but one just cant afford to ignore Shahrukh Khan- oh yes, he s a superstar and does not shy away from the fact. The person hurting most with the rise of the star is none other than the other Khan-Aamir. Few would remember that it was Aamir Khan' s refusal of Darr (1994) that catapulted the Badshah to superstardom. And our dear friend, Aamir Khan had to work doubly hard to reinvent himself in the cerebral meter in order to counter the Shahrukh box office onslaught... In the Khandom of Bollywood, Shahrukh s clearly stolen the show right under the noses of the other 3 Khans.
It has been a phenomenal rise from where Shahrukh started off two decades ago. A classic case of making hay while the sun shines - the cinegoers love him; so do the advertisers. Yeah, for every ten who cant stand his movies, there emerge another hundred who seem to lap it all up, and significantly, they come from a carefully cultivated overseas market. If he continues to play his cards well, he may have scripts written for him right into his 50's and 60's a la AB. Going by the way it is shining, Shahrukh Khan' s career may never see the sun setting on it. Now, is that good news or bad?
No comments:
Post a Comment