Ms. Chopra is perhaps not being over-enthusiastic in linking the Shah Rukh phenomenon to the strange rise of modern India. The county is unshackling itself from poverty. Malls are mushrooming. Joint families flock neighborhood McDonalds for Happy Meals. Dating and divorce, long considered the playthings of the West, are becoming common. In 2005, the coveted middle class numbered over 250 million people – only 50 million less than the total population of the United States. Silicon Valley sits scared of being Bangalored.
Truly, India is no longer a developing nation but an emerging superpower. Yet, there are glaring contrasts. Over 17,000 debt-ridden farmers committed suicide in one year alone. Poverty-stricken slums stand cheek-by-jowl with deluxe hotels. Thousands of Muslims are killed in communal riots and their murderers are voted to power by supposedly secular citizens. Daughters are smothered in the womb itself. Gay sex is outlawed.
In such a schizophrenic society, the persona of Shah Rukh Khan – a guy who wears DKNY but obeys the parents; who sings in Manhattan but muses on Punjab; a heterosexual who could be a homosexual; a seductive dancer who never lip-kisses a heroine; a Muslim believer with a Hindu wife; a hearty heartthrob who never traveled to the West till 28 but gifted a gushing fan with a round-trip ticket to any destination in the world; a go-getter who became everything from nothing – is truly an icon of our times. Read this book and don’t skip his upcoming autobiography.
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
8 - Tina
Can anybody please tell me how to order the book in Croatia...? I love SRK and I would really like to read this... Please help me!!
9 - parul
I like Srk from the very beginning of my life.he is the best.no doubt in this case but i have more sympathy towards him because earlier he has no home. he lost his parents and his sister is unwell. that's why... i like gauri also. she is the woman of power. women of today. without srk there is no gauri and without gauri there is no srk.still he avhieved a lot in his life. hats off to their entire family. young india should learn a lot to them by having the moral values in your hand. u can achieve anything in your life by having so many problems in your life. god is great. he is the one. god bless to his family...luv u shahrukh.
10 - manish patel
this is the real star the king of bollywood% actting,i love u srk,&& ra.one will rock on boxoffice....:)