He is a Muslim in a deeply divided, Hindu majority nation; he has spent penniless nights in Bombay; his sister suffers from permanent depression; his father died in a stinky cancer ward in Delhi’s nightmarish Safdarjung Hospital. Meet Shah Rukh Khan, the King of Bollywood.
He is Time magazine’s cover boy; Korean fans wear T-shirts sporting his face; his posters sell alongside that of monkey god Hanuman in the holy streets of Benares; his Bombay bungalow is a sight-seeing tourist attraction; his bodyguard gets sex offers in exchange for closer access to him! From the Champs Elysees to Grand Central Station, he has been mobbed by adoring fans.
What makes Shah Rukh Khan different from others? He is not the only Muslim superstar of India. His films are not the only box office smash hits. He is not the only one to lip-sync to super hit romantic songs. In fact, a thousand books could easily have been written if he had failed.
For instance, his skin color is not fair; his acting skills are too loud; he is less muscled than neighborhood gym boys; and he is rumored to be gay! How did this Khan become a Sultan?
Author Anupama Chopra spent more than three years interviewing more than 90 people - including Shahrukh Khan himself - in finding the answer. As a leading film journalist, she has written for India Today and The New York Times. Her earlier book on the classic film Sholay won the National Award for being the best book on cinema in 2000.
She herself is a woman with connections. Her husband, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, is one of Bollywood’s top filmmakers. Her sister Tanuja Chandra has directed many flop Hollywood remakes. Her brother Vikram Chandra is an established, Berkeley-based author. Her book is now the talk of the town.
“Whoever reads this book will have a clear and insightful understanding of Bollywood and, of course, me,” says Shah Rukh on the cover. The blurb is disconcerting, as authorized biographies always are. Could some of the anecdotes simply be myths (did he actually spent a hungry night in Bombay’s railway station?) encouraged by the superstar or his friends to spin his image? In spite of these doubts, The King of Bollywood excels in unraveling the early life of the king.
Article comments
1 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net , which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States, and to Boston.com. Nice work!
2 - salik
he is useless idiot foolish over confident man
3 - hena
who ever wrote that hes and idiot foolish over confident man is soooo wrong, ur probably one yourself and your just jealous that from going through so much in his life hes actually made something out of himself and hes well known worldwide, the guys a living fairytale and is an inspiration to alot of people young and old, basically hes my inspiration, and i wont have anybody saying that hes over confident, how do you know what goes around in his head, no one does, hes lost both his parents and hes still manged to make something out of himself, so you no what you can go straight back to where ever it is you came from, go take a hard look in the mirror before you speak about others
4 - Bharti
Shahrukh Khan is the best and no body can beat him........... may god bless him and his family
5 - aman diwan
i hav read king of bollywood.after reading that book ,istarted loving srk more than ever as a fan.anupama chopra has done a good job
6 - rambo
you
7 - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
who ever wrote this is a fool he dont know anything