The Man Who Would Be King

My generation had Dilip Kumar to tell us the story of India. But we also had Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand. Nargis came close to capturing the nation's imagination in Mother India but soon went into her domestic retreat. Their films told Indians' stories back to themselves. The story changes as the nation changes. The confident '50s changed into the sombre '60s. But the real dark period came with the '70s. Rajesh Khanna was good for the uncertain '60s but Amitabh Bachchan was needed for the '70s. There was conflict around and faith in the system had gone as Indira Gandhi destroyed the decencies her father had so painfully nurtured in the political system.

The dark violent '70s descended into the '80s and the middle classes abandoned cinema halls and stayed at home with their colour TVs and vcrs. It was only in the '90s that the nation came back to itself, happy and unshackled at last from a bureaucracy that had killed all joy. India was arriving and indeed a lot of it was abroad. TV channels popped up with glitzy commercials and newspapers responded with Page 3. India was going to have fun. It had come through hell.

The new life brought new heroes. Cricket began to be no longer an embarrassment and Sachin Tendulkar was on billboards all over India—a nice decent boy whom any mother could take home and marry their daughter to. But the biggest of the lot is of course SRK. There are the two other Khans and a new generation is already crowding the Khans out—Hrithik and Abhishek and John Abraham. But it is SRK who is the man for the era of globalisation when Indians are the new impressive kids on the block. After ages of boring the world with our moral arrogance and matching incompetence, Indians are suddenly success stories—bites, Bollywood and beauty queens. Everyone wants a piece of India.

Anupama Chopra has written a good readable account of Shahrukh Khan's life before and during his cinema years. Unlike most books on Indian cinema which are either boring sociological tracts or sleazy, tacky gossip sheets, this is a straightforward book which the subject should be happy with. Chopra tells the story in a more or less linear fashion from his father's life in Peshawar to his upbringing in Delhi and stardom in Mumbai.

SRK is often compared to Big B but he is more like the other Pathan who captured India—Dilip Kumar. He is grounded in method acting and that enables him to take risks. He can do Darr and also Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. But he appeals because whatever he does SRK is always in touch with his feminine side. Like Dilip Kumar, SRK is a Pathan who can cry and still impress us with his manliness. This is also why there are rumours that he is gay. But it also explains why he is a one-woman man, happily married to his teenage sweetheart Gauri and happy to be at home.

Yet, though Anupama Chopra does not spell it out, SRK will soon not be able to play his charming lover boy roles.The next generation has arrived and the one after that is already lining up. Dilip Kumar graduated to senior roles after his mid-40s, but he also severely rationed himself. The Big B has come back after his five-year break and is rampant. He does just about anything thrown at him. What path will SRK take? Will he ration himself as DK did or reinvent himself in multiple ways?

Who knows? It depends on how India changes and what stories it wishes to hear.