Down the memory lane to the world to 1993, when I was a kid over a year old, and I watched my first movie. I am talking about ‘Baazigar’- A masterpiece of Indian Film Industry. My parents gave me the very first experience to watch the movie ‘Baazigar’ and I didn’t cry or even not sleep a bit in spite of being a toddler, I still remember being fascinated by the on-screen shenanigans.
This story is my story of admiring and respecting the Iconic face of the Indian film industry, The Shahrukh Khan. This sounds more exciting if I start with movie ‘Baazigar’.
Taking fast forward directly to four years ahead after my first movie when I watched ‘Karan Arjun’ and ‘Baazigar’ again on my friend’s television. I was completely in awe with this man, this magnificent actor and the kind of person he is and I have never looked back. Over the years, I caught up on what I had missed – ‘Fauji’, ‘Circus’, ‘Anjaam’ (scarring but amazing), ‘Yes Boss’ (I wanted to be like him, my admiration), Pardes (Yeh mera India, I love my India). I had caught up by the time Dil Toh Paagal Hai had released. And this man meant everything on TV and movies to a six-year-old to me.
Over the years, I loved him for the actor that he was. Never did I love him for the romance-on-screen of his that most people do, nor did I pay attention to the kind of person he was – It was strictly movies for me. I respected him for all the hard works he put in his movies for me, for you, for himself and the people at large.
As I was growing up, he was growing too, as an actor. But now I started noticing the man he was becoming as well. The silent charity, the sarcasm, the wit and the humour which were he brought with him and the happiness that he spread across people’s faces when he popped up on Television and Multiplex screens. He was now more than an actor in my eyes. He was a decent human being. He was the man I admired, respected and loved. All I wanted was for him to prosper and reach the highest of heights. I didn’t have any gain here and that too keeping someone in good wishes to whom I have never even met in my life but here I prayed for him, even kept praying he smokes lesser number of cigarettes in a day. In 2011, I had a chance of meeting this man. He was in Baroda promoting ‘Ra.One’ and I met him, shook hands with him and even had the opportunity of him referring to me as his ‘Poster Girl’ (I was carrying a hand-made poster of ‘Ra.One’ for him to sign). This was the greatest moment of my year. It would be amiss to say I haven’t re-lived this moment innumerable times.
Until 2nd November 2015 I was okay. I was okay watching with lesser enthusiasm the kind of movies Shahrukh Khan started doing – ‘Chennai Express’, ‘Happy New Year’, ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’. And then came the fateful day of 2nd November 2015, the day of his 50th birthday, when he said the most heartbreaking statement – “There is extreme intolerance in India”. This statement hurt me to the core and beyond words; “No”, this killed all my love and respect for him. I was done with him; I was done defending him for his terrible movie choices past few years. The loyalty that built over two decades that died suddenly. That had gone in a second; just six words changed my perception completely. He further went ahead and added “Religious intolerance and not being secular is the worst kind of crime you can conduct”. Shahrukh Khan tried to be witty about the annoying practice of returning national awards if he had one to garner attention and rebel unnecessarily.
November 2nd, 2015, I was done with Shahrukh Khan. I was done with one of the few constant actors of my life since 1993. Don’t get me wrong, you can have an opinion about the Government, their policies, but not about my country, “No”. Not about the country that has showered you with nothing but love for all of your hard work, not without substantiating your baseless statement.
Oh, and well, then followed movies like Dilwale, Raaes and the epitome of disaster Jab Harry Met Sejal which I have not (Read: Dare not) bothered to watch.
Again a year later Shahrukh Khan has come with another disastrous movie ‘Zero’, it is again, dare to watch this movie. All in all, Zero’ is literally defining its meaning itself. The movie is a big zero.
Like someone once said, “Don’t underestimate the power of a common man”. If we can love you and make you what you are today, we have really those powers to show that you are a real ‘Zero‘.
Mailed to us by Mimansa Popat