Ok I agree that the title of the post sounds a bit grandiose but believe me when I say that the intention is genuine. For starters let me state that I have never worked with SRK, nor have I ever met him till date. So if anyone wants to know why this post in the first place, then I do have an answer for that. I have been following SRK’s career right from his Fauji days till now and still feel that he’s got a lot more up his sleeve. 
Of late on one hand he’s diversified beyond just acting by getting serious about his business interests and on the other hand he continues to be a punching bag of sorts for a lot of people, especially those who are e-savvy.
During the Fauji days on Doordarshan I remember telling my dad after one of the episodes that “dad, mark my word, this guy is going to be a big star one day”. I find it extremely funny when I think of it now because I guess I had not even entered my teens at that point of time. But yes I guess I was already a fully blown cinephile by then 🙂 . Initially as SRK climbed up the ladder of success it was sort of cool for people to be seen supporting him, after all he was an underdog and came in without a Godfather in the industry. But once he became a superstar and had cemented his place, the same set of people have started criticizing him for working only with people in his comfort zone.
Well their allegations are not completely wrong as even I would be happy to see him working with say an Anurag Kashyap ( which probably might still happen ), Vishal Bhardwaj, Imtiaz Ali, Dibakar Banerjee etc., I mean who wouldn’t but then he’s also worked for the 1st time ever with people like Shimit Amin, Anubhav Sinha, Priyadarshan and now Rohit Shetty. So I guess he will somehow manage to find a way of balancing films with people who belong to his comfort zone and some of the other filmmakers as well. With Jab Tak Hai Jaan’s release just ahead around the corner I am reminded of what happened 4 years ago when Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi released.
For some the movie was a sweet romance very naturally shown with SRK as Surinder Sahni, carrying the film on his shoulders. For others the movie was just another SRK flick and they were just plain bored. First of all whatever be the final take on the movie; the fact remains that the movie was a big success. True it was not the best from Aditya Chopra, YRF or even SRK, but SRK as Suri was able to bring in the crowd. Lot of people including me in some ways felt what’s wrong with Aditya? Why does this have to be his comeback venture? For all those people who thought so let me tell you Aditya had very smartly executed his plan to perfection.
How else do you explain the complete scripting of the movie to be over in a mere 12 days and the entire filming over in a mere 47 days? There are basically only 3 actors in significant roles, SRK, Anushka & Vinay Pathak. There’s no foreign locale or anything outlandish. So basically the movie was a very low cost venture and turned out to be much more profitable than some of the other big hits of the year. But in spite of all this is what’s surprising about it is not people liking or not liking the movie, it’s a section of people continuing to crib that it’s a routine SRK movie and that he continues to disappoint with the same kind of roles. Look at the other recent SRK movies excluding Bhootnath where he had a special appearance-MNIK, Billu, OSO, Chak De India, Don/Don 2, KANK, Paheli– I fail to see what’s similar in any of these movies or his roles in them.
All that people have to say is why he doesn’t do a Swades or a Chak De India. Well every movie just cannot be a Chak De India or a Swades. Movies like KANK, Paheli or Don may not be great but it had SRK trying something different in each of these movies. When will people start accepting SRK the way he is and allow him some space? No I am not a blind fan of his & do not say RNBDJ is a great movie. But I do feel that he’s trying and not just so much caught up in the routine as people think. Ok so he went a little too overboard with Billu alright and it did not appear as good as it should have. Bu then everyone has a field day right?
With My Name is Khan both SRK and Karan Johar stepped out of their comfort zone and attempted a genuinely earnest film. I do agree that the film does have certain moments which look either too good to be true or plainly silly but I do believe that there was a certain honesty about the film. Also for once I was happy to see a Hindi film being shot abroad for the right reasons. With Ra.One and Don 2 again there has been enough debate on how good or bad the films were. And I am sure that there would be a debate with Jab Tak Hai Jaan as well which is completely fine with me. I mean why wouldn’t anyone want a healthy debate on any film and try to look at how good or bad it is.
But then let the debate be healthy and talk about the merits and demerits of the film. Why get personal about the leading actor of the film? Do we do this for every other actor’s film or is it just that it’s SRK, which means one needs to make an exception? There was a huge hue and cry recently during the IPL 5 incident at Wankhede Stadium this year. Most of us weren’t witness to the so called brawl and all we saw were pictures, yet a lot of us had made up our mind that SRK has lost it, once again. And now I go back to the title of the post as I feel there’s a strange trend of sorts which has emerged with so many people talking of their own free will about Shah Rukh Khan, the actor and the individual.
Don’t get me wrong friends, I am not sending out any moral science lesson over here. But this is just a sincere plea from my side to his fans, detractors and to everyone at large- watch Jab Tak Hai Jaan and comment on whether you liked it or not. But please look at the film objectively and not with any pre conceived bias for or against SRK. He has been entertaining us for years and would continue to do so, let’s stop being his advisers at least now.
mad about moviez.in 
I do not think he is misunderstood at all.In fact i guess he is one of very few Indian actor whose life has been documented well in form of documentary,Books and T.V.series.
What has days of shooting do with quality of film,i read somewhere Mani had Shoot Dil Se in flat 45 days,i would still it was far better than RNBDJ.
Kank was inspired by Hollywood Movie,while Don i never understood in first part even when Don is alone why he acts like commoner talk about staying in character.
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well, I think he has always tried to try different things, unlike what has been thought of him that he does same kind of roles. It’s just that his love stories are more popular than his other films. in that way, he really is misunderstood.
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I am not sure if his fans are criticising SRK as an actor. Neither do I or most people I know feel he is getting into hackneyed roles. He has simply lost the ability to comprehend what people want.
I have been a fan of SRK; not since the Fauji days like you since I wasn’t born but still, a much earlier time. I hated him in Deewana since he took the girl away from Rishi Kapoor. But that was the hatred of a young child towards a character and not an actor. Darr was when SRK intimidated me. But this time, I wished he d have got the girl. Same with Baazigar. Anjaam was too gruesome for me to even watch. Then came along Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. Till date, Sunil has been my favourite character ever. And I truly believe, no one else could have done justice to this masterpiece. DDLJ was where his supremacy was established. In the industry and in our hearts. Then came along a stream of movies – among others, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, KKHH, K3G, Swades and Chak De India. All along this journey, people may have criticised his acting in a few roles, questioned the successes of some movies, questioned the failure of some other. But never once did one feel or assert he had lost touch with his Audience.
The industry is full of people who are there simply because either they are hot foreign babes who hold the attention of the big shots in the industry or they once belonged to another actor in the form of a sperm. Uday Chopra, Harman Baweja, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranvir Singh, Sonam Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Tiger Shroff!! We sadly can not help if these idiots appear on screen.( I have made it a point never to watch a movie of the above stated undeserving actors in theatres – why pay for substandard stuff?? ) And they do not even understand the common Indian so well to create a connect.
SRK did. He was the soul of the common man. He lived in the hearts of men as an inspiration, an idol; in the hearts of young girls as their first crush; in the hearts of older women as the idle son. It is therefore, quite disappointing that the one person I and many like me look upon as the guy who shall redefine cinema is not doing so. Thankfully we do have some good actors from the Delhi lobby who have held up the sane end of movies. I just wish for the old SRK magic.
You expect great things only from great people. So I shall wait for him to make that masterpiece. And I shall not accept anything below his standards. For I still believe in the force called SRK.
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