Just read Kapil's and pooR_Planner's posts on KBC3.
And since I found myself in front of the TV almost a full hour before the show started, just thought I would pen down why I like Shahrukh so much(mostly- I hated him in KANK and some other movies)...
The last time I took some time to think about SRK-fandom was in Bandhavgarh in the company of Shyam Babu(Benegal) with a group of travellers on a special 3 day boutique package arranged by my friend Ram.
We had debated the immense popularity of SRK, whom the intelligentsia loves to hate!
Now SRK if you realise is a perfect blend of grey/ crossover. Perfect for the times that we have been living...
SRK is a blend/ rich brew of
The man on the street meets the King
Indian Diffidence meets Rising India (Long before India Shining happened)
Talent meets Jugaad
Hero meets Villain Darr
NRI aspirations meets Rural India Swadesh
Bollywood meets Cool (Remember, how cool was earlier reserved for Hollywood actors alone). Of course, the general aesthetic contours of Bollywood have changed. And guys like Manish Malhotra have an equal role in it.
Dil Maange More meets Wahi hoga jo bhagya mein likha hai(Most of his love plots, including Chupke Chupke)
Flaunt meets Family Value The man & his family life
Honest Muslim meets Hindu Wife
Love meets Arranged Marriage DDLJ
Romance meets Commerce His marriage, Mannat, His paid-for-dances at weddings
Somewhere, when I was younger, I liked this grey shade honesty in SRK. The intelligence and his voluntary playing to the gallery for money! And then his blatant honesty in admitting it.
I love him because he is himself. Most times. Long before India Poised happened, SRK had the cheeky confidence that I thought only Pakistani fast bowlers seemed to have in the sub-continent.
I like him because he is a family man and loves his kids.
I like him because he doesn't time his cause marketing efforts with the release of his films. I have a feeling one other Khan does that.
I like him because he is gizmo-saavy. He is the new-age face of an archaic but immensely powerful industry called Bollywood.
I love him because he(along with Karan) knows the value of creating and perfecting an image. Look at the way he has re-invented his look from Deewana to Don. (Actually all of them have - Aamir, Salman...)
I like him because with so little acting talent, he can get a Nation's love and adulation.
Okay, back to KBC. I wasn't disappointed. Loved him, music video, humour, ada/ idiocy and all.
I think he was true to himself! All style, little originality but no pretence as well.
In the age where celebs are part of the larger community, the hug makes him more accessible(its actually using the Munnabhai jhappi!). I was myself appalled at the hug idea at first, but on TV it wasn't that bad.
KBC is a borrowed and heavily templated concept, little room for deviation. In an atmosphere where the critics, AB fans are all out to take his ass, poor guy better stick to the AB benchmark.
AB is a legend, SRK is the reigning King of Bollywood and that should be left at that...:-)
Like AB, SRK is a meta brand. He needn't do much now to enjoy that status.
As as I was about to end the post, my mother called me.(To remind me that it's Saraswati puja today)So, I asked her if she liked KBC3? She said she loved it. More than KBC 2. Because Shahrukh "khoob hasaya"(made me laugh). I agree. I laughed. Are those the jokes which a savvier, more intelligent audience would laugh at. Never. But KBC is to a different SEC. The SEC of mainstream India!
Which other star would have the balls to say on National TV that "Log kehte hain, main sirf style hoon, mujhe acting nahin aati hai. Sahi hai". (I am all style, no acting prowess) and that "Aap jo chahein main woh colour ka coat pehenooga, agar boley to petticoat bhi pehenooga"(I will wear any colour coat that you want me to. If you insist I will even wear a petticoat"
You can love him, or loathe him. But you won't be able to ignore 'The Baadshah' and he will drive the TRPs up for sure...Now Shahrukh don't let me down:-)
8 comments:
Confessions of a smart and passionate fan!
it was important for me to think about why i like him when reason and logic tells me to hate him LOL.
it reminds me of a comment that Piyush made the other day at the India Poised discussions at the infy campus.
India must think from the heart...
Pallavi has a nice comment on Tissue Issues. Would like to add something to it Manish?
Two things that came to my mind instantly after reading your post. Are you planning to use SRK to endorse any brand of yours? And does young Neo like SRK more than you do? Lol
Well, SRK is a crowd puller, no doubt. He can drive TRP's, he's the zero who became the hero and without any pretence he made people laugh with his modesty and honesty, to the extent of massaging the contestant.
Now, why would one do that? One he is fighting a tough battle. Two he knows that to secure his throne as a King he needs to connect with the young crowd and the best way to do so would be his typical quirkiness. But how long will he keep doing that. Don't know if he has some ace up his sleeves for his later episodes. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the show.
For my part, I never wanted to compare SRK with AB when I sat down to watch the show. But I had a secret desire to see how better SRK handles the show. I was waiting to see his so-called on-screen charisma translating into this live show and the spontaneity translating into witty one-liners. That combination of charisma and wit combined with the boyish charm that he exudes would have done wonders to KBC. But alas! SRK tries hard to do something he doesn’t need to and fails miserably. And what more, he tries so much not to be AB that you end up comparing the two of them and that’s where the “miserably” failing part becomes a ”disgusting” failure.
It is just been SRK’s first day and there might be accusations of being harsh about him thrown at me. But then, SRK is an established star and has his own fan base. Any Indian who has an interest in movies definitely knows about SRK and unless he is somebody born after 2000, he knows about AB too. There is no point in SRK trying to tell the audience that he is going to be different from AB in all aspects in such a loud manner. By doing that he is only hurting the honour that the show has because of AB. AB brought a quiet dignity to the show with his humility, dressing sense and impeccable use of both the languages (Hindi and English). There were shows when AB came on with a leather jacket and looked suave and sophisticated in that too. It was all in the manner in which AB carried himself. The show ran on his shoulders. Despite being a tremendously popular concept outside India, it needed a man of AB’s calibre to acutally transform it into an Indian show. The show also revealed (PS: revealed, not deliberately exposed) the emotional side of AB. AB was an icon to millions of Indians. Whenever the ‘Phone-a-friend’ lifeline was used, the awe for AB was displayed in the almost choked voices of the speaker on the other side. I remember in one episode, as soon as AB delivered his customary “Namaskar, main Amitabh Bachchan bol raha hun Koun Banega Crorepati se” the lady on the other side broke down. I guess the same would happen to me however prepared I would be for the call. God save my friend who choses me as his ‘friend’ for this show now, because I will just start off with telling SRK what exactly I think of him! And I might break down because of the way in which SRK has brought the honour and dignity of the show down. Not because he wanted to, but he because he wanted not to be like AB. I wonder if the producers of the show were sleeping during the time when SRK decided to take this route to his first episode.
SRK tries to customize the show to the background of his contestant and is not consistent with it. He begins to call the computer “Compaq da” because it is Prosenjit Sarkar (a Bengali) who is sitting at the other end. And as time passes, he calls it Mr. Computer and what not, but never “computerji” because that’s what AB used even if it came naturally to him. Then when it’s Mr. Guggala (an Andhraite) the computer’s name starts with ”Computer gaaru” to the usual anything but “computerji”. Not only does SRK play around with the computer’s names he makes fun of the contestant’s names too. But I should say he carefully treads that line without getting derogatory. But it isn’t as funny as he wants it to be. You would have laughed at the same jokes a hundred times before and it only gets tiring. Then comes the “jhappi” or “hug” or “gale lagna” that’s SRK’s new introduction to the game. But his comment about ”Quitting the game” (coined by AB) being negative was uncalled for. Hitting AB below the belt when he is not actually bothered is so derogatory for a star of SRK’s stature. SRK’s options for language are quite limited and hence he chose to say that I will use the language that suits the audience the best. Quite good for a sales pitch but the entire coutnry knows about AB’s impeccable langugage skills and his ability to handle both with superlative flair. SRK can only speak what he knows and this shows and he should have been silent about it and we would have understood and taken him at face value. Unnecessarily speaking one sentence in shuddh hindi and asking if anyone understood now went to the extent of hurting those who were KBC fans. Unnecessary and totally uncalled for. And don’t pull me into mentioning his comparison with George Clooney and saying “Kyon, hum mar gaye kya?”. Ok, that was a good one compared to all the other ones he tried to crack!
If SRK is allowed to go on in this fashion, KBC will fade into oblivion even if the prize money offered is more than Rs. 2 crores. SRK needs to take his own place and make the show his own by being himself rather than not-being-AB. It will only irritate viewers and take them away from the screen. And there is a danger of failure that exists. And that failure can take a heavy toll on SRK’s brand equity on-screen too. And that will have huge implications on the film industry’s fortunes. So, take care SRK. A lot is riding on you.
KBC 3/ any mainstream program is not made for an audience of one:-)...there are other guys...who come home tired and dont have the time to do all this arcane thinking over a dumbed-down quiz contest...they watch it for a lark, for a laugh, for the new coat that the star wears, for the funny accents/ mannerisms/ now massage...etc, etc.
There is something called the remote! Hate something, change something(the channel)....
chill rose...
Its just about two stars and lots of marketing:-)
Even fans (like me) wont lose sleep over falling or rising TRPs...
It's registered a 5.3 on aMap (today's Agencyfaqs story. With a high in Mumbai. Interesting stuff - he's got tremendous appeal in the heartland, the last i was there.
Wonder how it moves on from here. Personally, i ran to the films dept to catch the video at nine sharp. He's a charming sort of lad.
ok fine u gave all the points ..of shah rukh being as usual .."THE GOODY GOODY GUY".U SEEM TO B A GR8 FAN OF HIS..he is at times gud but ..i feel he is spoiling the kbc image wid all the nautanki tat he does
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