SRK: Beginning of the End?

He has ruled the box office for two decades. He has made us fall in love with his grace, his charming screen presence and his charisma. He has achieved all that an individual in the film industry aspires for. But Shah Rukh Khan, as we have seen in some of his last movies, has not really been able to match the expectations of moviegoers and even the most devoted of his fans have been left disappointed with his choice of films.

Shah Rukh has been an actor who has tremendously evolved as a performer over the years. From the dark shaded characters in Darr and Baazigar, to the very lovable Raj in DDLJ where he showed his class as a romantic heartthrob. Later, in Swades he moved us with his role of a contemplative scientist who loved his country while in Chak De India as a Hockey Coach who ignited a love for the nation and the game through his fantastic performance. We have all loved these performances and Shah Rukh has earned a great fan following and respect due to his hard work.

But things have taken a rather unexpected turn for Shah Rukh in the last decade or so. In fact, Chak De India remains to be his last movie which actually left a long lasting impact on cinema lovers, leaving apart My Name Is Khan in which his acting was highly praised. Since then he has been a part of projects which certainly do not match his caliber as an actor, nor have they been able to impress the audiences. The disappointment perhaps began with Ra.One which apparently was his dream project but failed to live up to the expectations. Even Jab Tak Hai Jaan where Shah Rukh Khan was placed right in his comfort zone only appealed to a section of the audience, most of whom were from his core fan base.

Then started a series of unimpactful flicks, some of which although did well at the box office but were hollow on content and performances.  Chennai Express still remains his top grossing movie but to be honest we expected King Khan to come up with something more sensible. As if this was not enough, he followed it up with disasters named Happy New Year and Dilwale, which were not only poorly made but were so unnecessary that even a performer like Shah Rukh seemed to be highly ineffective. He tried to reestablish his acting credentials with Fan and did fairly well, but the film bombed at the box office. While Raees in spite of creating a strong buzz before its release ended up being a sleeper-hit, his latest release Jab Harry Met Sejal has been a huge letdown.

So what is going wrong for the Badshah of Bollywood? May be it has got something to do with his choice of movies. He has perhaps reached a phase of his career where he is liking to play it safe, and is trying to make commercially viable movies rather than going for intellectually rich content like Swades.  I do not find it wrong, after all an artist has the liberty and privilege to choose what he does but the problem is that even the most ardent of his fans are not getting enough reasons to pay heavy amounts to watch his movies. This is quite evident with the poor box office figures of Jab Harry Met Sejal.

Also, the age is not on his side now. Expecting a 50 year old SRK to look as charming as Raj from DDLJ or Rahul from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is perhaps too much for asking. Moreover, some of his contemporaries have established themselves strongly of late and are giving him stronger competition than ever. While Aamir has been giving highly successful movies with strong content, Salman has emerged as the box office king ever since SRK has found himself struggling. Even Akshay Kumar has carved a niche of his own and has been delivering superb movies back to back.

Add to that some promising new talent in the form of actors like Ranbir Kapoor, Ranvir Singh, Shahid Kapoor and Sushant Singh Rajput, who are catching up fast and would soon be the front liners of the B-Town. Bollywood is a rapidly changing and ruthless industry. You are replaced as soon as you get less profitable since there are many waiting to take your place. It is probably this fear which is preventing Shah Rukh from exploring and taking risks.

As someone who has loved his work, I would want to see Shah Rukh rediscover himself and try and play characters which now suit his demeanor. Amitabh Bacchan also went through a similar phase in the late 1990’s and then changed his approach only to come up with some excellent movies since then. What is important for SRK is realization- realization of intense competition and of his inability to do the same kind of roles which he did two decades ago. I am sure he has got a lot of great work left in him, it is just that he needs to find new and better ways to show his potential.

 Movie lovers love you King Khan, and hope to see you soon ruling the box office like a Badshah….