The Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan film Dear Zindagi is out now, and while most are doing a plethora of reviews and such on the movie itself, I would like to take this time to talk about the actor who for being the ‘badshaah ‘ of the film industry, is just so much more than that.
When I read this interview of Gauri Shinde she said, “He (Shah Rukh) never comes and tells you to change the script, he will never do that. If he feels he has to change certain things he will tell it politely, he will ask your permission. He is respectful of the boundaries of an actor and director. It shows trust and faith he has in the project.”
And it was this part that truly stuck with me and prompted me to write this article because one thing I truly admire about SRK is that whatever he is today, it is purely purely because of his hard work and talent.
You know out of the three khans, where Salman is THE superstar, who will somehow make his film a hit even though it might be super crappy, or Amir Khan who is the artist and chooses to do films that usually have a more critical element to them. Shah Rukh Khan on the other hand, is an honest to core actor, who has a broad spectrum of talents that include being the start of his fans eyes as well as giving some truly amazing critical performances.
So here are 5 times that SRK was more than just a mere hero and instead was an actor:
1. When Shah Rukh Khan Took On Darr
Darr was a turning point for SRK and a movie that really made everyone in Bollywood take notice of him. SRK up until that point had mostly gotten very chocolate boy roles cemented in the good hero category. But Darr was a negative character and that was just a major no no for any lead actor. It was practically considered career suicide as taking a negative character had the fear of getting stereotyped in that role.
However, SRK was not deterred by this and in his wake he changed negative roles forever and now actors are literally running after such roles.
2. When He Reinvented The Era Romance
DDLJ- the movie that was always meant to be iconic. It had everything working for it, the actors, the plot, the direction, the cinematography, and the songs. But it was perhaps the actors and more specifically SRK as Raj that in way reinvented the romance genre and introduced the modern concept of love into Bollywood.
Of course, it also introduced Switzerland to Indians, so there is that.
3. Swades And Chak De
Swades and more particularly Chak De were so far and removed from the typical romantic hero roles that Shah Rukh Khan was known for that it changed his entire image for the public.
Dil Se, Swades and Chak De were all more critical films that had a very strong message to them. Chak De shined light on hockey, a very undermined sport in India and rose it to a popular spot.
4. Historical and Period Dramas
Devdas, Paheli, Asoka and a few others were historical or mythical films that had a pretty cool concept behind them. Where Devdas did extremely well, Paheli and Asoka could not enjoy the same popularity however, I for one really liked Paheli as a film.
The production, the story and the acting all of it, made for a very interesting film.
5. Risky Films
The last point I wanted to include is sort of a continuation of the first one only and that was the fact that SRK is a risk taker and instead of always going for the safe projects is keener on taking challenging films.
Ra. One, Don, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, and a few others were roles that either, deviated from his stereotypical roles, had a controversial storyline or was experimenting with something new.
SRK has always been ready for such kind of projects and even shown a lot of enthusiasm for them.
Coming to an end, I would just say that Shah Rukh Khan is a humble, witty and sarcastic orator who has had a long and successful career without having even a teeny tiny bit of connection in the industry.
He pokes fun at himself, he is self-deprecating and love him or hate him, you definitely listen to him when he talks.
Image Credits: Google Images
Other Recommendations:
http://edtimes.in/2016/07/written-by-arundhati-roy-this-movie-was-far-ahead-of-its-time/
http://edtimes.in/2016/11/dear-alia-is-doing-fairly-well-for-her-generation-ed-reviews-dear-zindagi/
http://edtimes.in/2014/11/srk-can-love-hate-surely-ignore/
