Shahrukh Khan - Mohar Basu

 Legend. Icon. Star.

The cover says that about SRK. Author Mohar Basu is a film critic, Chief Correspondent of Midday and winner of India Achiever's Club 40 under 30 in 2024. The cover looked interesting and I certainly find SRK to be an interesting, intelligent and insightful person who seems pretty grounded with his philosophies and thinking. How he gets so many people, especially women, to love him, was always a mystery to me. So I dipped into the book to uncover any insights it might offer.

The book began with SRK's comeback film 'Pathaan' and its success and a long, lean period (Chennai Express was his last hit a decade ago) where he was almost written off. Then the nuggets come - from people he worked with, from himself. "To work with people who make you happy." "To make good films and not make films to break records." SRK claims that 'in all humility I am the last of the stars'. Its a narrative he believes in.

Some insights into his life - Dad was Taj Meer Khan, a handsome, idealistic man who hailed from Peshawar (I think) but chose India to settle down in after partition. He fought in the freedom struggle, was part of Khan Gaffar Khan's party, tried his hands at films, businesses that didn't run. He met his wife Lateef Fatima Khan who was born in Toli Chowki in Hyderabad, then moved to Bangalore and Mangalore. She was a social worker and a magistrate. Th two met by accident - she was involved in an accident near India Gate where Taj happened to be. He took her to the hospital, donated blood and for good measure donated blood to her mother also who was unwell at some later point. Suffice to say he wooed her and won her over. SRK and his sister Lala Rukh were their two kids.

SRK however remembers being hard up for money - mom skipping meals, father promising movies but showing cars go around on the road. He did well at his school St Columba where he joined the C gang, was smart enough not to get caught for his mischief, topped the class and was in the theatre class. Palash Sen of Euphoria was his classmate! After school he joined TAG (Theatre Action Group) which had such great talent as Siddharth Basu, Roshan Seh, Lilette Dubey, Mira Nair, Pankaj Kapur. His first film was Arundhati Roy written 'In which Annie gives it those ones'. Then there was 'Fauji' which was on TV and which got him nation wide recognition and then 'Maya Memsaab.

He met Gauri at a party and charmed her and they fell in love despite the obvious obstacles - he was a Muslim and had no steady income. How he followed her all the way to Mumbai with his friends, found her at Vasai beach and how they made up is stuff one could write a story about. He forayed into Mumbai, met friends like Aziz Mirza, Kundan Shah, Vivek Vaswani who got him a foothold into the Bombay film industry and opened their homes to him. Then his gamble of taking on negative roles in 'Baazigar' and 'Darr' after which people told him he would not be accepted as a romantic hero, which made him suspicious of doing romantic films until an old lady told him - don't do films where you die. He accepted DDLJ after that and the rest is history.

SRK they say knew his worth even then and demanded that a film match his worth. In DDLJ he also does stuff which defines manhood, someone who respected a woman's agency. One fan says - even if love fizzles out in a relationship, respect must remain, something most men in India don't seem to get. What women want is a man willing to listen when they are speaking to him (Egbert?). Someone says that women want a man like SRK - someone who picks up their dress after them at a social event, who can bond with their mother in the kitchen, who holds the door open, who spoils their daughter, shows affection openly be it in hugs or kisses. They say instead of conquering them which most men set out to do, SRK wants to be conquered by them. They say he has this feverish devotion in his eye..fully prepared to submit to women. He himself says - I know how to respect a woman..to dignify a woman. Something about him that says to women - all your emotions are acceptable to me and I respect all of them. His trademark hands spread out pose signifies that. He is known to be very protective of the women he works with, sending his body guards to see them off home safely.Somewhere I read - I want to be a woman when I grow up. SRK also brought about the idea that love is based on friendship. 

Mothers feel that he's the son they would have raised. Women say they would want to have a conversation with him and ask him how he's feeling. He himself is known to be extremely caring about people - like the way he asked a journo friend of the author - are you happy/     

 Another thing they say about him is that he does not make other people feel like they are lesser, he sees them, talks to them, respects them. He constantly says he loves money but some of the people he works with say he does not charge or speak about payment.

One detail everyone went bonkers about is the way he smells - apparently he mixes two perfumes to get the right combo - a Dunhill scent and a Diptyque one. Another tip for men from his women fans - smell good, don't come sweaty etc because its a turn off.

SRK is quoted as saying that he peddles love - the oldest and simplest emotion known to mankind. He would go through fire to make the people he loves know that they are loved. Far as lust is concerned he says he is too sexy to lust - and that lust is for people who don't feel sexy from within.

SRK quote - If one is looking for a deeper meaning in life, money gets a secondary or incidental status. What's really important is to pursue your dreams and desires. I desire to make a film that fully entertains.

Messages are for the postal service he says. Films should be entertaining.

And finally his quote which I agree with - Luck is a misnomer. Either you believe in hard work or God. In between the excuse is luck.

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Interesting read. Definitely feel like I know him better. And how he gets so much love - complete vulnerability, authenticity. People love him simply, want to know him, protect him. He's the kind of a guy who walks into the DDLJ household in Punjab, everyone's friend, and everyone loves him. Now do we know people like that? Very few.