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carla |
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He's one of the biggest stars in Bollywood - he's slick, he's polished. Millions love him, millions want to be him. He's all charm, all charisma.
He's Shah Rukh Khan. And I can't stand him.
I struggled with this for a long time as my interest in Hindi movies grew and developed. Nearly Bollywood fan I encountered swooned over him in one way or the other. Some of his movies - *Kuch kuch hota hai*, *Dil se*, *Dilwale dulhaniya le jayenge* - turned up again and again on favorites lists. But when I watched his films, I just didn't see it. He's average-looking. He's too slick and affected to really be charming. His mannerisms and facial expressions are grating. His delivery is practiced and unnatural. His romance is aggressive and unappealing. I'm just immune to the jadoo he seems to cast over other people.
I've seen about eight of his films now. At first I expected him to grow on me but when I discovered that the reverse was happening I imposed a semi-moratorium, so that I wouldn't start to hate him thoroughly. Now I only watch his movies if I have a very compelling reason to do so. I don't automatically dislike movies that he's in - but the only film in which I can really say I liked *him* was *Main hoon na*. It's a parody, and so his persistent self-caricature worked there in a way it doesn't when it's meant in earnest.
I have to give this to Shah Rukh Khan: he's a fine dancer - I generally come closest to liking him in his upbeat, athletic dance numbers. And I respect him for being very good at what he does, entertaining people - not me, but lots and lots and lots of other people. I'm no longer in angst about not liking him - but I have tremendous thought to why and so I thought I would open the topic up for all of you: What do you think of Shah Rukh Khan? Do you love him? Would you watch him read the phone book for three hours? Does he melt your heart? Do you covet his dimples and eyebrows? Or do you, like me, carry the Shah Rukh immunity gene?
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Carla, I think it's his looks, period. Caricature is precisely the word: no texture, little substance, lots of clowning. But the train station scene in Swades was quite well played. I didn't find him annoying at all in that film. On the contrary, there was an instant, somewhere near the beginning, when I saw it, I finally saw it, a facial expression: and I said to myself, "Self, that is why they love him." Yes, he sure can dance!
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I hope there aren't too many SRK fanatics in this group (ya right), but Carla...you aren't going to make too many friends with this thread!
SRK is an enigma of sorts...there's so much to him than what meets the eye. No, I am by no means a "fan" of SRK. I too believe his roles have become quite repetitive and lack any sort of real substance. But SRK the man, and the actor (at times) brings to the screen, dignity, poise, and experience.
Firstly, he is one of the very few self-made super-stars in India today (and has held his status despite having the young-guns like Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek knocking on his doorstep). However, I think this has ultimately led to his demise in terms of judging characters and experiencing newer themes. He's too big a star on screen, and it is his status that tends to overshadow his performance. So many of his fans are so much in awe of him that they tend to over-look the more real, the more important factors of his career..his abilitites, his performances.
If you tell me that SRK has no talent..I'd probably role my eyes. If you tell me he's the best thing ot have happened to the Industry, i'd still role my eyes. Carla, I am quite disturbed with two of the comments you made. 1) You're making a rash judgement based on only 8 films. Do you think you could list the films you've seen? Perhaps I could recommend some of his more better films.
2) You liked him in Main Hoon Na? The very few people I meet who dislike SRK, dislike him because of films like Main Hoon Na! This is the typical nonchalant, carefree, breezy, lover boy type of roles that SRK has played and to an exstent mastered over the years. The man does not eploit his talents and this is what frustrates me. He tends to go into over-kill mode with is nothing but tasteless and annoying if you ask me!
However, let's not forget some of the other roles he's accomplished quite brilliantly (Darr, Dil Se, Devdas, Swades..and some others). He has the ability, but he chooses to stay within the Dharma Production and Yash Raj Camp because Shah Rukh is so much binded by his relationships. It is these relationships that hold the actor in him back.
Other than that, I think he's a great man. I've met him peronally and he's such a charming personality. After lots of health issues I commend his vision to stay at the very top of the Bollywood A-List.
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Aakash, your post makes me smile, because it's exactly the sort of thing I've heard dozens of times before when I've come clean about this. So let me defend myself a little.
First, I absolutely never said that Shah Rukh Khan lacks talent, skill, or dedication to his work. I believe he has all of these things in abundant quantity. Which is why it is all the more interesting to me that he doesn't appeal to me. I don't hate him; I'm not bashing him; and I'm not attacking those for whom his magic works. Rather, I am continually amazed that I just don't get it.
Second, I completely disagree with you that I am making a rash judgement about him. Quite the contrary - I have given him many chances and have given a great deal of thought to why I don't like him. I hoped that would be clear from my initial post. Life is too short, and Hindi films too many and varied, for me to spend more time with someone who doesn't appeal to me that I could spend with dozens of performers who do. Also I specifically said that I don't automatically rule out his movies; but they are not what I reach for unless there is some other compelling reason to watch them.
I'll listen to your recommendations for his "better" films, though I am confident I have heard them all before, and then some. Usually, when I dare mention that I'm less than madly in love with Shah Rukh Khan, I get bombarded with responses of the form, "Oh, but have you seen X?" X has, at various times, been any of the following: Devdas, DDLJ, Main hoon na, Veer Zaara, Swades, Dil se, and probably others that I'm not thinking of at the moment. And I get contradictory responses too: One person will say, "Well, watch X, and you'll understand why people love him." Another will say, "Whatever you do, stay away from X - it will only make you hate him more." This only drives home the point that what we are talking about is personal taste, whether a star clicks for you or does not.
Third, I *hated* Devdas, and I hated Shah Rukh Khan's work in it most of all. So if that's an example of what you consider his best work, well, I think I just have to stick with my conclusion that I don't have the Shah Rukh Khan gene. Because that performance didn't work on me one bit.
Fourth, I don't think *Main hoon na* is the typical lover boy role - rather, I think it's a parody of that role, and that's why it worked for me. It's when he plays that character in earnest that he is at his least appealing to me. Playing it to make fun of it, and of himself, is a very different animal.
Okay - per your request, here are the Shah Rukh Khan films I have seen, first in rough order of how much I liked the film over all (most to least) and then in rough order of how much I liked Shah Rukh Khan in the film (again, most to least). (As it turns out, there are only seven of them.)
Films overall: Swades, Main hoon na, Dil se, Don, [big gap], Hum tumhare hain sanam, Dil to pagal hai, Devdas
Shah Rukh Khan in the film: Main hoon na, Don, Swades, Dil se, HTHS, DTPH, Devdas
To be fair to his performance in Swades: it was the first film I ever saw him in, and I haven't seen it since. So I did not appreciate at the time how much more restrained and less obnoxious of a performance it was than what he normally turns in. I think if I saw it again now, it would move closer to the front of that list.
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Geetanjali, my views on SRK mimic yours. I have no emotional attachment for him. I will never go see a film just because it has SRK. Everytime I view a film, my emotional sense will always remain detached from anything that has to do with the film (cast, director, story etc etc).
Carla, trust me you're not the only one in the world who isn't in love with SRK. Many critics are, what you'd call, "sick" of him. I don't hate the guy, and I definately am not crazy over him (i guess that would hold true for the girls..lol, not me).
No reason to contemplate and ponder your views Carla, just embrace it as it is! He hasn't really don't anything in particular in his work that warrants praise. I'ts more of his personal charm, charisma, and life-story that propells him to the top.
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When SRK knelt before a wheel chair in Madame Tussauds
By IndiaFM News Bureau, April 9, 2007 - 11:14 IST
I went to see Shahrukh Khan in London when he came to unveil his statue at Madame Tussauds wax museum. I was accompanied by five young women from Shahrukh Khan’s French fan club, Shahrukhfan.fr. We knew that only media people would be allowed to get into the museum, but despite this, we came from France, hoping to see Shahrukh, and maybe talk to him.
I am on a wheelchair and it was almost vital for me to tell him that when I see him dance, my body too dances, that I can dance with his body. I so much wanted to thank him! We went to the museum at 7am and we waited for hours in the icy wind of London. We talked to the bodyguards, they were giants but very nice ones; people were getting more and more excited and less and less controllable. They had come from all parts of the world, “only” to catch a glimpse of Shahrukh: France, Japan, Australia, and Trinidad.
Then he came. Suddenly no one remembered me, our small group was scattered, literally ejected meters away from me, I was sandwiched between Nani, who was helplessly holding the wheelchair, and the bodyguard, with my head flattened against him. I managed to move my head away, and I saw Shahrukh, with his caramel-coloured skin, his black hair and beautiful smile.
Then, for one second, our eyes met. How strange. Try to imagine: the overexcited crowd, the hysteria, the bodyguards, and our eyes met, although he was three meters away from me, with lots of people between us, and my chair wasn’t at all at the level of his eyes. Then everything became black. The tsunami was dangerously shaking my chair. My face was flattened against the bodyguard. All that came to my mind was that the wedge of the armchair was completely driven into the guard’s legs, and Nani was doing her very best to prevent me from falling on the ground. Then the bodyguard moved, with one hand he was holding the crowd and with the other he made sure that I could see something. In fact, it’s because Shahrukh was kneeling down that the guard moved. He was kneeling down for me. It was like being in a cave with human walls, we were in front of each other, and I was able to tell him thank you, I could tell him that he made me dance. He didn’t understand. People were screaming and my English wasn’t good, I was too nervous.
He asked me, surprised, if I wanted to dance. I said “no, I don’t want to dance, I dance with your body”. He smiled, took my face with infinite tenderness, and kissed me on the forehead. He didn’t smell cigarette, nor perfume, only a nice body odour. His kiss wasn’t wet but not dry either. It was complete. He went away and I didn’t see him again. What more can I tell you? This man gives off strength. When he came near me I felt this strength, he gives and gives, only with his presence.
It wasn’t a star kissing a disabled woman for publicity. I felt the human being, full of tenderness. He is able to do a lot of good. I don’t understand why Tussauds tried desperately to discourage us from coming. I hope Shahrukh knows that the reason why there weren’t more people is that Tussauds refused to give information, kept repeating that we wouldn’t see him, laughed at us. The public relations of the museum strung us along; Tussauds didn’t want us to come. I don’t know why and I hope this will reach Shahrukh’s ears. If it does: thank you, Shahrukh; seeing you and seeing you dance has changed my life. Thank you for stopping in front of me on Tuesday, April 3rd.
(As emailed to us by Alicia Baca)
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Thanks for posting that article, Aakash. I can only imagine what that experience must have been like for that young woman.
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lol, ok obviously I could post articles about SRK all day long. And by no means do these articles reflect my views. But just thought they'd made for itneresting reads here...
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Interview with Shah Rukh Khan´s acting teacher Barry John
By: By Steven Baker
…
Shah Rukh Khan has credited you with teaching him all he knows about acting. Do you agree?
On the basis of my own education and experience, I do not believe that any one teacher or mentor can be credited with delivering every skill or quality that an actor possesses. Acting is a complex alchemy of inner and outer experiences, awarenesses and skills that are drawn from many sources, and then filtered through the unique persona of the actor. And the learning never stops.
I imagine that I had a profound impact on SRK’s formative years as an actor, which are vital in laying positive foundations, fostering aptitude and self-confidence. His training was more of a traditional apprenticeship than a formal schooling, and he brought to it his trademark energy, hard work, intelligence and humour. The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of his career goes to the superstar himself.
More recently, Kunal Kumar and Shiney Ahuja, amongst others, have passed through your doors. Did they have star potential from the beginning?
In the light of Shiney Ahuja’s and Kunal Kapoor’s more recent achievements, I might be tempted to say, in retrospect, that they had star potential that was evident during their training. But the fact is, I was not aware of it. Both were good students to work with: committed, involved, questioning and responsive. Shiney had a maturity of years and experience in business and in marriage, which set him apart from the average student; it resulted in greater self-belief and a deeper level of involvement. Kunal was from Mumbai, and therefore blessed with greater exposure and awareness of what was expected of him.
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Side note: surely it's only in the world of Indian movies in which someone would be questioned for judging a star based on eight performances! Eight may be a drop in the bucket for some Indian actors, but in Hollywood, say, careers are made and lost within that stretch. I'm not saying eight is enough (hee) all of the time, because of course whether that sample is representative of the breadth of a performer depends on which eight.
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Carla, what I admire most about you is that you always have very good reasons behind your opinions. I, on the other hand, sometimes don’t. I’m a fairly new convert to Bollywood, and I’m still a little star struck. I like most of what I see and I still haven’t really developed my “oppositional gaze” yet. My initial SRK love was a reaction, like blinking or gagging. Maybe, as you say, it is a matter of either having or not having "the gene".
I’m definitely evolving now though. SRK has been replaced as my favorite bw actor and my love has been tempered to strong like. Here are my reasons why…
Like:
1. As you said, the man can dance.
2. I like his body language. He creates just as much erotic tension as any Hollywood star without steamy sex scenes and kissing etc. I think that can be hard, and not every Bollywood star can do it.
3. I actually like that he’s not conventionally attractive.
4. I find him very charming. He has this funny grin…*sigh*
Dislike:
1. He is the worst fake crier that I have ever seen. Period.
2. I hate his psycho stalker roles.
Films in order of preference:
Dil Se, KKHH, DDLJ, Devdas, KKKG (Not his fault, I blame Kareena), Paheli, KANK, Dil to Pagal Hai, Koyla, Anjaam
Smithie
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kepeters: thanks for your kind comments and welcome to Jaman! I am delighted to see you here.
This is a great line: "My initial SRK love was a reaction, like blinking or gagging." I do think that visceral, involuntary response can be important in determining whether one likes a star or not. That's not to say one's views can't be refined over time, but that reflexive response determines a lot. I had that reaction to Madhubala in *Mughal-e-azam* - my jaw dropped to the floor the first time she appeared on screen, and I was still trying to scrape it up three hours later when the movie ended.
One more thing - those gut reactions are no less valid or powerful just because they aren't backed by obsessive navel-gazing! I happen to enjoy analyzing why I like or dislike something, but I am sure some others find it self-indulgent and pretentious.
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I'm so with you, Carla!
He just looks too... I dunno... kind of slick and slimy. He doesn't come across as someone I'd trust right off the bat. I guess I kind of got to like him in Paheli, but only because he turns out to be kind of goofy.
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Thank you for all the warm welcomes...
Geetanjali: I watched Paheli last week and I just downloaded Umrao Jaan. I haven't had a chance to get to it yet. I'm excited though, all the reviews are very positive.
Normal: I think its really interesting that Paheli made you like SRK more. I had the opposite reaction...the character(s) he portrayed were just not appealing to me. I usually find him charming and endearing, but for the first time I could really see what people were talking about when they called him slimy. I think it was mostly the movie though, and not so much him...at least that's what I'm telling myself.
Carla: I'm with Geetanjali. I don't mind the naval gazing either. It makes for good reading!
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I am one of the great herd of SRK fans. I would love to be able to provide an enlightening explanation of why I and so many others swoon over him (and would indeed queue to watch him read the phone book for 3 hours (-:) - but for me it was, as Kepeters put it, just a visceral "reaction". Well, actually my very first reaction (Kal Ho Na Ho) was not positive: rather than just average looking I found him very unappealingly odd-looking, his acting quite atrocious and it wasn't until he started dancing in Maahi Ve that his jadoo started to work upon me. It was Chalte Chalte that started me on the slippery slope of enthusiasm and Dil Se that tipped me over the edge into full-on fandom.
I can see what you mean, Carla, about his 'aggressive' romance style (eg the Aur pas scene in Dil To Pagal Hai), though I categorise it as 'domineering', and I guess, though I might protest otherwise in everyday life, I do find that attractive. But I also find he is good at projecting a tender, vulnerable character who lays his feelings bare as well. I love his energy and the over-the-top, spaniel-like enthusiasm he displays in some roles, such as parts of Yes Boss. His real-life persona is engaging too, he seems quick-witted and warm-hearted. I do realize that his faithful husband and loving father image is probably carefully spun for publicity but it seems to have its base in real-life which is attractive in a business that seems to develop in its workers an inability to sustain long-term relationships. But to bring it back to why I like watching his film performances, it comes down to energy, sex-appeal and sheer charisma (which I know is rather unhelpfully indefinable) - his dimples and eyebrows don't have much to do with it for me.
I am actively trying to expand my Bollywood watching beyond the world of SRK because I know there is a lot more out there that I could enjoy - and this will be a good place to do that - but I think he will probably remain my no 1 BW star for a while to come.
To prove my true obsessive fan status, I have nerdily compiled a list of his films in the order in which I like his performance (in order of liking the overall film the ranking would be rather different - though Mohabbatein comes at the bottom of pretty much any list I might compile!)
One2kafour, Duplicate, Baadshah, Don, Dil Se, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Yes Boss, Main Hoon Na, Chalte Chalte, Veer Zaara, Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam, Asoka, Darr, Baazigar, Swades, Koyla, KANK, Devdas, DDLJ, KKHH, Paheli, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Pardes, King Uncle, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Dil To Pagal Hai, Mohabbatein
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Originally posted at 3:44pm, May 17, 2007 PDT
jem edited this discussion 3 years ago | Flag this reply? |
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I've seen about eight of his films too (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil Se, Devdas, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Asoka, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa; Deewana: in about that order) and I am a Shahrukh fan.... I think? KKHH has so much stupid American clothing / dance sequences, bad lines, adults acting like children and yet it's a very endearing film. He and Kajol worked well together. Then in Dil Se... he has some great lines and, Manisha's face in that is so lovely that I can't dislike Shahrukh in it because I like her so much. The story of Devdas is great and I thought Shahrukh did a good job in it... he was rather convincing compared to what I would have expected now that I look back on it. DDLJ is a better version of KKHH made earlier. K3G was the first film of his I didn't like a lot... because... the film didn't really have any endearing characters or story. I think what I mean is that I don't really like Shahrukh... I just accept him because he's in things I like and doesn't ruin them. I don't know what it would be like to insert a different actor. Since the films I listed are romance films I find the women more becoming so they are the characters I become attached to. Maybe an Aamir Khan or someone could have replaced him... but, I figure, at least it's not any of the new men like they guys from Dhoom, Dhoom2, Pyar Ke Side Effects, and all of the newer films which are like bad American knock offs but only slightly more endearing because they aren't in English. So, I can't say I like Shahrukh... or any other Indian actor besides maybe Raj Kumar (who I've only seen in Waqt) and maybe Amitabh's character in Sholay. Well, not a very interesting take on it... but, it's mind :)
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I just love ShahRukh. I just adore this man so much.
I have watched each and every single movie of his. I liked some and disliked some.
But I never hated him. I am so much in love with him.
His acting, his dance, his dialogue delivery, his action, his clothes, his looks, his dimples, his everything attracts me towards him.
And I have had the opportunity to meet him during the shooting of one of his recent released movies, DON.
I spent almost 7 hours on his set. They were shooting the song Khaike Paan Banaras Wala. Priyanka Chopra was there too.
Honestly, he is so much more good looking and charming than he looks on screen. He even looks so much more younger.
Being just a fan, he treated me so well. He was so polite and just too damn good.
I clicked a picture with him and you know what, after the picture was taken, he actually kept one hand on his heart and bowed down and said, Thank You Very Much.
I was already so mesmerised and he being so polite just made me like him even more now.
Now I know why he has such a huge fan base. Coz he treats his fans nicely, is polite and kind to them unlike some other stars I have met, who are so arrogant like there is no world without them.
After meeting him, I not only love him more but I respect him even more.
I know some may say I am silly. But you should have witnessed how sweet and kind he was to me.
KHUSHIE
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I pretty much fall into this catogory as well, I don't hate him but I've just lost interest in his films. I've seen few of his recent films but Swades is probably the only one I would watch again.
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He makes my heart smile too, Sumsum (in most of his performances and rolls, anyway). Well said!
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Carla, can I just say that this discussion is the first I found on Jaman and prompted me to join? I was so intrigued by this, mostly because its a topic most people wouldn't have the guts to start or enough evidence to back up their responses! But wow, there are some really topnotch arguments here....I totally get both sides, because, well, although I am a SRK fan I initially had a response very similar to Carla's. I wouldn't have picked SRK in a lineup as a Bollywood Heartthrob!! But eventually, somewhere between the end of Veer Zaara and now something seriously happened... and although this has been debated beautifully for 6 months already, I will attempt to sum it up in a list of why I would pick SRK over the more conventionally attractive Hrithik or John Abraham anyday!
1)Although his romantic style can be seen as somewhat "agressive", he couples it up with tenderness brilliantly. Some women love that. He will spin you around harshly and then catch you gently in his arms, lovingly cushioning your fall. He will give your hair a pull, then cup your face in his hands, gazing at what seems to be each and every one of your facial features in complete amazement.Sigh.
2)His heroines do their part to hype up the SRK factor as well. Have you seen the way Preity Zinta, chest heaving, looks at him as if she is completely frightened by what is happening to her, as if she is throwing all of her reasoning out the window and submitting to him completely, helpless to save herself? Or how about Kajol, with eyes wide as saucers, who leads you to beleive all of her dreams are coming true at this very moment and that she is completely shocked he would be looking at her the way he is?
3)He has traits(in character) that men don't usually portray in films, such as helping in the kitchen or being a single parent.
4)He is not conventionally attractive, and sometimes that makes him more attractive because he is seen as more "attainable" in our own lives.
5)The stories of his relationships with his fans, including the moving ones that Aaakash posted, speak for themselves.
6)He has this energy in his films,mostly in his songs, that make you feel like being around him would be a blast.
7)He appears to be humble and kind in real life.
8)He usually is not "supposed" to be with his heroine in his films, so he always has to fight to be with her. Attractive.
9)His goofy facial expressions add warmth to him, which I feel Hrithik Roshan and others lack.
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I used to find him really irritating. Then something started to shift when I saw Paheli (my long-awaited first experience in a real Indian movie theater.) Slowly, but steadily I've grown to enjoy watching him do his Shah Rukh Thing. It just seems like he's a nice guy having a blast and, what the heck, I might as well have fun along with him and stop begrudging him his superhyperstardom. And besides, Chhaiyya Chhaiyya changed my life.
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Hi Carla me again, and much time has gone by. After rewatching Paheli and a DVD of scenes a la "I Love Sharukh" it has (finally) dawned on me that Yash Raj and Shemaroo are indeed the bargain basement of Hindi cinema. My day job keeps me from really getting into these topics and seeing as many films as I woud like to see and writing about them. but after a computer crash last summer and finally switching everything over to Mac I am back on Jaman and agree entirely with most of what you have written. As part of (still) trying to complete an essay on NRIs and textiles (you saw part of it, I am getting ever closer to completion), I have watched Swades yet again and there seems to be just so much more going on in it thematically, beneath the surface that are more visible primarily to a fully knowing and educated Indian audience. It may indeed be SRK's finest and least annoying performance, but ironically in a more art-house type film. It may even be construed as a work trying to forge a middle ground between diaspora and homeland, along with competing visions of national identity a la Hindutva / BJP vs liberal / secularist/ Marxist /Congress Party. Subsequent viewings also revealed the greatness of the performances by the actresses playing both the village Nanny and the progressive schooleacher. And I think the score is just perfect, despite annoying to western the ears vocalisations by children in a key number involving them. the "little stars" children (yeh tara voh tara). Much seems to boil down to the different expectations of Indian and non-Indian audiences, as I am sure you are aware. Beth got into trouble with some idiot on her website over this issue last year. We were in Europe in Feb. and in the V & A musuem bookshop in London I picked up a wonderful monograph that I highly recommend, "Cinema India" by Rachel Dwyer and Divia Patel.
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