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Shah Rukh Khan´s Comeback
- Mr. Ratnakar Sadasyula

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Now that Chalte Chalte has been declared a success, and is on it´s way to becoming a big hit ( never mind what people might say about it not being a success in some places, the age of universal hits is over), the person who must be feeling doubly happy is Shahrukh Khan. After 2 flops in a row (PBDHH and Asoka), this was Dreamz´s 3rd attempt and it proved to be third time lucky for them. Though many critics have panned the movie, I personally felt the movie was not too bad, except for the climax which was stretched unnecessarily and was certainly better than most of the other Hindi movies. But what this movie proves that in spite of all the Hrithik´s, Abishek´s, Fardeen´s, Vivek´s and the other new kids on the block, Shah Rukh is here to stay for quite a long time. The failure of movies like PBDHH, Asoka, One Two Ka Four gave every one the impression that Shah Rukh was out, and the new kids would take over the industry. Many a magazine celebrated his so called demise, promoting every new comer as the next king. Coupled with the fact that his choice of movies was bad, his statements promoting himself as the best and his long hiatus due to back problems, it seemed that his career was over. Critics had a field day, analyzing why the Shahrukh magic was over. Some had a look I told u that he was over hyped attitude. Some said that his hamming was getting to stale. So for any one and every one, Shahrukh Khan was finish. Except that Shahrukh himself didn´t believe he was. So he choose to strike back with Devdas last year. While the movie did quite well, not many were appreciative of his performance. And to be honest I myself don´t feel it was his best either, he had given better performances before. But with Chalte Chalte he seems to be back again in full form. Like I told you, I wouldn´t put it as a great movie, but watching the movie bought me memories back of the Shahrukh magic which I enjoyed couple of years back. So what was exactly this Shahrukh magic and how did he manage to win the admiration of such a large number of Indians? Why did audiences go crazy over his on screen antics? Why did they applaud him beating up the hero in Darr (the last time they did that was for Shatru)? Is it because of his talent which his admirers claim or because of his over the top acting which his critics deride? Fact is Shahrukh has become the sort of persona whom u either hate or love but cannot ignore. Now is Shahrukh one of the best actors, or the best (as his many fans and he himself claims). Now that´s a difficult question to answer. Fact is every actor has his own style of working, and to claim that one actor is greater than other is to do injustice to both. If we take the analogy of tennis, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe´s styles are different but both are equally great players. No point in making comparison between these two. Similarly as far as Shahrukh is concerned, i feel critics do a great injustice in trying to pit him against his contemporaries like Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshaye Khanna etc. Fact is each has their own way of acting, Aamir loves to get into the skin of the role, while Ajay projects intensity and Akshaye has a cool casualness. Now we should never expect Shahrukh to be like Aamir and Aamir to be like Shahrukh, they perform in the way they feel is good. Critics claim Shahrukh hams and repeats himself, what they don´t realize is that is his way of projecting his feelings. Take a real life scenario between two guys, one guy feels sad, he cries within himself and maintains a serious look, the other guy lets himself out and weeps on your shoulder. When some people feel happy they tend to jump and frolic, and some tend to smile and celebrate quietly. The feelings are the same, but the expression is different. So also is acting all about that. Actors might fake expressions and exaggerate, but when they perform they are saying that 'Hey in such a situation, i would have behaved the same'. Shahrukh is certainly not a 100% perfect actor( there are some movies where he really hammed outrageously), but that he is talented cannot be disputed. And why Shahrukh attracts so many people is simple, watch Shahrukh on the screen, not like a critic, but like an average movie fan. When you watch him on the screen, after some time you start identifying yourself with him. You cry when he cries, and when he wins, you feel the same excitement he does. I remember watching a movie called Josh some time back in 2000, where he plays a street smart tapori kind of role. There is a scene in the movie where he beats the villain (Sharad Kapoor) to pulp, and smashes his face into a mirror. I remember the audience going wild cheering and clapping at that scene. Mind you this was at the height of the Hrithik mania and all the talk that Shahrukh was over. Now in this scene, the average guy watching the movie, didn´t care less about whether he was hamming or over the top. What he felt was, hey this is me and i am bashing the bad guy up. This ability to connect with the audience and make them feel for you is what Shahrukh´s magic is all about. He doesn´t have the killer looks or a great body or is not even prodigiously talented. But when you watch him on the screen, you feel that he is you, and he takes you along with him. You are with him, you identify yourselves with his on screen persona and you go along with him. Now that is the hall mark of a really good actor. I can list many movie where i have seen the actors performing on the screen, but couldn´t care less about whether they were alive or dead. Watch him struggling for a job in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, and you remind yourself of the days when you did the rounds for a job like that. Watch him in Yes Boss trying to please his superior, and you are reminded of how you had to do the same in your office. When you see him romancing the heroine, you wish that you too would romance your girl in the same way. Its this sort of identification with the on screen persona, that makes you be one with him. The average guy knows he can never be a Hrithik with that perfect body, he could never be a Fardeen with his oh so cool luck, but he could always be a Shahrukh. Shahrukh is not perfect, he has his faults, but that is what endears him to many people out here. The feeling that hey is he like one of us. Its this feature of Shahrukh that his won him many fans all over. And what many of us love about Shahrukh is his unassuming nature. He speaks dime a dozen, and makes really outrageous comments at times. But he is never faking, he speaks from his heart and that´s what makes him so genuine in an age of media manufactured heroes. And that´s what makes his performances stand out. They might not be Oscar winning or national award winning ones, some of them might be repetitive and over the top, but they are never fake. Shahrukh had many flops in the recent, because of one simple reason. He was not himself and trying to be some one else. In order to please critics, he tried donning roles like Asoka and Devdas, and changed his style of working. But while that did not please the critics much, it alienated many of his fans too, who could not identify much with the characters. But Chalte Chalte has shown that Shahrukh is back to his old self. And that is wonderful news. Because when we see a Shahrukh movie, we expect to be pulled on to the screen and identify ourselves with him. And a final word for all those who accuse of him hamming and overacting, the next time you watch a Shahrukh movie, watch it like an average person who wants to see a movie and not like a critic who tries to find meaning in everything. You would feel an experience which is so exhilarating.

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