India's unofficial ambassador of romance Shah Rukh Khan turns 55 today. For millions of his fans who are still clinging on to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, this news will be a hard one to digest. It's only yesterday when the poster of Chak De India popped up on the television while we were looking for old movies we could rewatch and suddenly the big day had arrived.
Shah Rukh Khan completed a significant amount of time being famous. But way before his success as Raj (DDLJ), and Rahul (too many films) he was a simple boy named Shekhar, in Doordarshan's Circus.
2020 has been a brutal year for most of us. It was only in March when the lockdown phase re-introduced us to the boy-next-door Shekhar in Circus and suddenly it's November and he is 55. Back in that era, it was difficult to imagine that this Delhi wala ladka would turn out to be one of the biggest superstars in the Hindi film industry. Did he plan on it? For that, we might have to pause and observe his transformation.
SRK - the king of romance
Much before his Rahul, Raj phase, he was a failed lover like most of us in Darr or Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. Even when you can sense his fading magic for the past few years, the memory, the image of what Shah Rukh Khan keeps us alive again and make us visit the theatres, despite knowing that we would only end up being disappointed.
Much like his worried fans, Shah Rukh Khan is equally anxious about his box office performances. You could almost sense that in some of his interviews and chats with fans during an #AskSRK session on Twitter. But he hasn't stopped experimenting. Be it Dear Zindagi, Fan, Raees or Zero, SRK has tried to become more interesting.
Despite all kinds of failures and criticism Shah Rukh Khan continues to remain a superstar in the true sense of the word. If he has a photo session with his family you would immediately go on to his Instagram profile to find out what witty caption has he used this time, how are the three children, what are they up to.
It's a lockdown session and we are yet to see, if despite the fear of pandemic if fans would gather around near Mannat to wish their favorite star. If they do, you would know that nothing could stop a fan from being an SRKian. If they don't, well then congratulations on being a sensible SRKian who chose to remain indoors.
