Why SRK rules Bollywood

As I probably pointed out in my last entry, I have been watching a lot of Hindi movies lately. With nothing better to do these holidays, I have been a regular visitor to the cinema halls of South Delhi. I have seen almost all the movies that have been released within the last month. And on top of that, I have been watching Bollywood movies on TV as well, something which I don't usually do. I do watch HBO and Star Movies regularly, but being as vela as I am right now, a couple of Hindi movie channels have also made a place for themselves on my favorite channels list. I believe I have never before in my life watched so many movies in such a short duration (about 10-15 movies in the last month). As a result, I have begun to consider myself quite an authority on the Indian Film Industry.

Have you ever wondered why all Shah Rukh Khan movies do so well. Why do all of his movies receive such grand openings? Why do people rush to cinema halls to watch his movies as soon as they are released? Why is Mr. Khan the undisputed king of Bollywood? Why do crappy films go on to become hits just because Mr. Khan is in them? (I was thinking of Main Hoon Naa... there.) Well, I have, and I have come up with the answer.

Mr. Khan is, undoubtedly, a very good actor. He could be a bit more versatile, but he exhibits all the qualities of a seasoned professional. An enormous screen presence, good body language, an expressive face, and a convincing genuineness are some of the characteristics that make him a good actor. However, what I refuse to believe is that he is the only good actor in our country. The assumption that he is the only good actor in Bollywood is absurd. Thus, there must be something else about him which appeals so much to the Indian audiences.

And there is. SRK is so popular today because of one primary reason. He is on top because he has the ability to draw out one very important feeling in the viewer. Sympathy.

Mr. Khan is the unrivalled King of Hindi cinema today because he has public sympathy on his side. He can draw huge crowds to the theatre because he can elicit sympathy, pity from them. It is this pity that forces the public to go and watch his movies. People flock to halls to see his films again and again, because they feel sorry for him.

Don't believe me. Here's the evidence. Let's look through some of the movies that SRK has acted in during the last 3-4 years, undoubtedly the best period of his career.

In Devdas, Bollywood killed SRK, after denying him his love, and forcing him to take up booze. Devdas got SRK the Filmfare award for Best Actor. In Kal Ho Naa Ho, he was given a weak heart, and his lady-love ended up marrying someone else. The movie ran for ages, and some of my friends actually saw it no less that 5 or 6 times. In Main Hoon Naa..., which I think is his worst movie till date, he portrayed the role of an illegitimate child, disowned by his family. The movie, needless to say, went on to become a hit. In Asoka, he was banished from his kingdom. The movie, although not a very big commercial success, still managed to make a profit, and got much critical acclaim. And finally, in Veer-Zaara, poor SRK singlehandedly faced the wrath of the entire Pakistani political aristocracy. He sacrificed his love and languished in jail for 22 years, never once betraying the trust that has been placed in him, unknowingly, by the person he loved. The film is still doing well, and tickets are still hard to get, even if you happen to visit a hall on a weekday afternoon. And no prizes for guessing who is going to take home the Filmfare award for Best Actor this year.

Therefore SRK is not just a good actor, but a shrewd tactician. He knows the factors that are working for him, and the factors working against him, and he chooses roles in such a way so as to educe empathy from the viewer. Most of his regular directors, like Karan Johar and the Chopras, know exactly what will work with SRK and what will not. Roles are now being written exclusively for him. His screen presence is growing. Something tells me that the SRK fever is not going to die for quite some time in the future as well. SRK is truly a star, and one of the most reliable stars that the Industry has seen.

What Mr. Khan needs to do now is to stick to what he does best. He is too established a star now to feel the need to experiment. Experimentation might produce some very good movies, but unless he does what he is best at, which is drawing compassion from the audience, big hits will probably elude him, a case in point being Swades. Swades is an excellent movie, but it is not doing too well at the box-office, further proof that unless SRK is given a raw deal in a movie, it is unlikely that the movie will do well.

Strange are the workings of Bollywood, and stranger still are the workings of an average Indian cinema-goer.