The real Shahrukh Khan

Who's the real Shah Rukh Khan?


Zubair Ahmed
BBC News, Mumbai


Shah Rukh Khan has been in the limelight for the past 10 years

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is a bundle of contradictions.

Humble and arrogant in the same breath, a dreamer and a realist, now vulnerable and now supremely confident.

Who is the real Shah Rukh Khan?

The actor has now allowed the camera to capture his private life for the first time - London-based filmmaker, Nasreen Muni Kabir, has directed two documentaries on his "outer" and "inner" worlds.

The documentaries will be out on DVD early next month and may unravel the enigma for his millions of fans, from Morocco to Malaysia.



Will the DVDs sell?

"Shah Rukh Khan sells, period," he replies, with his famous dimpled smile.



Autobiography

But if the answer appears arrogant, the notion is quickly dispelled.



These documentaries will stand as a tribute to the uniquely creative life and thoughts of a marvellous human being and truly iconic star


Nasreen Muni Kabir,
director



"Any comparison between me and superstars such as Amitabh Bachhan and Dilip Kumar is blasphemous," he says.

Shah Rukh Khan, 40, says the documentaries are not an expose. "There's a personal me, there's an actor me and there's a star me."

He says he has been writing an autobiography for the past four or five years and that the idea behind the documentaries was to let his fans know he is as ordinary in real life as they are.

"My life may seem glamorous from the outside but off screen it's as ordinary as anyone else's. I want people to know that movie stars live a normal, middle-class life."

Khan has been in the limelight for more than 10 years now.

He started his career as a TV actor in his hometown, Delhi. But soon after moving to Mumbai (Bombay), home to India's entertainment industry, he established himself as an accomplished performer. Innumerable hits have followed.



Khan is one of the most coveted Bollywood actors today, winning all the awards the entertainment industry can offer.

His critics say he is awards hungry.

"I've won many awards and I want more. If you want to call it hunger then I'm hungry for awards."

He is highly competitive. "I'm the child inside who, when taking part in a race, wants to win, when he jumps he jumps the highest," he says.



Religion

"King Khan", as he is popularly known, is one of the most saleable faces in Indian cinema.

He has also made commercials for more than 25 brands.

The star's critics say he is awards hungry



Nasreen Muni Kabir, who followed him for more than 25 days to make the documentaries, says: "Time seems to stop when you are with SRK. These documentaries will stand as a tribute to the uniquely creative life and thoughts of a marvellous human being and truly iconic star."



Shah Rukh Khan, born into a Muslim family, is married to a Hindu and his children follow both religions.

At home, next to idols of Hindu gods he has the Koran. The most important thing is that "the children should know about the value of God".

Khan lost both his parents before he became well-known. His tenderness comes to the fore when he talks about them.

"I do miss them a lot, especially now that I'm successful, because I would have liked them to see part of it."

He was very attached to them and says his way to avoid depression is to "get up in the morning, wear make up and be someone else".

Shah Rukh Khan rules Bollywood, but who exactly runs his life? "My two children, my family and friends. I do whatever they tell me. I love spending time with them." And what about his fans? "They run my professional life."

Well After His Last 2 Films Floped So Badly Salman Khan Took Over The No.1 Spot After Big Hits This Year.

No matter how diplomatic, sincere or professional this man may be, if he places the Hindu idols and the Quran side by side then there is nothing more needed to be said. All his good qualities aside and his love for his parents etc, but at the end of the day if a man has the audacity to call himself a Muslim and disgrace the word of the One supreme God in such a fashion then I have very little respect for him.

If he was a non-Muslim from the start then that would be fine. But being a Muslim he has the responsibility to atleast tell his children who God really is.

Sorry to make this an SRK blasting post. I do appreciate his efforts in the film industry, but his blunders are major which I doubt can be justified.

i don't think he considers himself muslim...he's stated many times that its his mother who is guiding him and stuff...most of these bollywood actors are flaky muslims to begin with...at some awards show i watched saif ali khan was trying way to hard by wearing a christian cross for apparently no reason...judge these people by their acting...not by how religious they are...because you'll find that very few are...

ok so if someone by pure accident of birth is born into a Muslim family then is he considered a Muslim even though he may not follow Islam or is non-religious?

being muslim by birth or name, is much different from being muslim...

Exactly so why the big fuss over SRK?

Woa Carty bhai, take it easy, looks like your'e suffering aftershocks from hurricane Rita....Put the gun away and slow back away from the computer.....

I am sorry guys, Rita seems to have ravaged my fragile little mind.. I am so sorry and apologize for offending any of the fellow PPers, Pakistani friends and non-Pakistani's, alike.

can i ask, taha, why placing a hindu idol is so blasphemous, and so disgraceful to islam?

because idol worshipping is shirk and haram in Islam and placing such a symbol of shirk next to Quran while knowing what it stands for is haram . Shahrukh is going to burn in hell. Good news for bollywood fans.. they will have entertainment in the hereafter!

they can watch him dance in pain burning in hell! woo hoo ..

it'll be "koyla Part 2"

Why do you live amongst non-Pakistani scum ,surely you'd be much better off living in Pakistan. Won't you be burning in hell for living in a kufr country when you easily live in a Muslim country?

lol

Never really cared abt bollywood movies or actors/actresses. So yeah... they can burn in hell and take Saima with them ;)

PPl like SRK and salman- have never had steady upbringings - salman mum a muslim revert and srk paents dying young...as partly led to their present state.

Who cares what religion someone follows?

Its a personal matter, nothing to create a thread for.

BIG DEAL!

Please remember and respect the PP policy on religious abuse, if certain members cant discuss issues maturely then access to posting on Time Pass will be taken away!

Basically Tupac because Shirk is the biggest sin in Islam. And accepting that idols can be associated to the status of God is absolutely blasphemous.

Actually i SAW a interview of SRK on Zee tv where he said that he tries to pray atleast 4 times a day & reads Quran every single day b/c it bring him peace. On his children he says he gives tells them to read quran and when they are 18 it will be up to them to choose which way to go. His part is to tell them the right path. I saw the whole interview with my brother. So i dont think we should discuss SRK religion or IF he will burn in hell(according to Cartman) as we didnt with MOYO either. Its beteween them and God!

I agree Shez, I guess info posted by the media is relatively unreliable and you can only give an opinion (not state anything) until you have seen someone speak like Shez has.

So My posts only apply if he is indeed the way the initial post of this thread describes him.

one of the three super stars in Indian film industry

Dilip Kumar, &Amitabh Bachan are the othger two

he might have entertained millions (or even billions) wid his performance and witty statements
but the sun has perhaps set on him and he like Dilip might just find it better to hang up his shoes
or like Bachan must find some alternative roles in the film industry