Real life super hero

I have done two long interviews with Shah Rukh Khan. The first was at his home Mannat where Mr Soundbyte Specialist said wonderfully inscrutable things like “even in bed I’m on stage”, and the second was on a full moon night on a terrace in Goa where the Badshah was surrounded by his hosts — a luxury watch maker — giving back-to-back interviews to grateful journalists, while outside the heaving press of fans and onlookers strained at their leash.

So what is he like, I am asked often and by even those who feign not to be interested in Bollywood. And my answer is always: “Exceptional. He is an exceptional human being, first class in every way. Brave, centered, evolved, intelligent and progressive. And that’s not taking into account his dimples or the way he shakes his booty.”

Consider the evidence: few have been his professional wrong moves; in a career that spans almost two decades there have been relatively few booboos. Yes, there was that rumour of him rushing to a magazine office and coming to blows about a story alleging an extra marital affair with his director’s wife, but that was many years ago at the very start of his career, and since then there’s been nothing to suggest that he treats the press with anything but respect and civility.

And, of course, Mr Motormouth’s utterances have got him into sticky situations: there was that spat he took on with Amar Singh, the run in with the Sena and his ongoing Tom and Jerry skirmish with Salman Khan more known for its wit and banter than real hostility. And, of course, his run in with US immigration authorities that coincided a bit too neatly with the release of his film, My Name is Khan.

Professionally Shah Rukh is all about work. Relentless, driven, hungry for success and pushing the boundaries, his is a life spent as a karmayogi. Work is his worship.

But it is for the management of his personal life that I find him exceptional. Shah Rukh Khan is the new Muslim—some one who has never played the minority or victim card, a man of faith himself who married a Hindu, hasn’t expected her to convert, allows her full freedom to follow her faith, and has gone on record to state that the household respects all religions.

But that is not the only thing that speaks of Shah Rukh’s confidence in himself. In an industry where a certain feudal patriarchal mentality still pervades, Shah Rukh led the way in allowing his wife to live, dress, party and express herself in the way she chose. Gauri made it easier for other star wives to emerge from their husband’s shadows.

Of course, there are other instances of SRK’s maturity and tolerance. Dogged by rumours of bisexuality, he is confident enough in his sexuality to allow for gossip not to unsettle him into making kneejerk statements. As in every thing else he does, he plays with the issues. And I have yet to hear of a serious rumour of any extra marital affair.

For some inexplicable reason I have had the privilege of growing up in the company of two other pillars of the film industry: Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. SRK is right up there in their league.

It is apt that next week we will see him in the role he was born to play: a superhero.

Malavika Sangghvi is a Mumbai-based writer
malavikasangghvi@hotmail.com