Shah Rukh Khan 
the enigma
As SRK mouths dialogues from Don 2, even shakes a leg, for his fans, Nonika Singh tries to understand the man behind the superstar

When I was growing up I wondered why villains have to be loud strange men, caricatures with scars and moles and a rip-roaring laughter. People, who have so much power, ought to be in control of situations and themselves."

Shah Rukh Khan with Priyanka Chopra during a promotional event for Don 2 Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

With these words, the superstar Shah Rukh Khan explains his portrayal of the bad man in Don 2 — calm and collected. Of course, the matinee idol, who was in Chandigarh to promote his film Don 2, is in control onscreen as well as off it. Apparently, nothing seems to shake his cool.

Not the frenzied mobs that go berserk at the very sight of him and won’t let him utter a word, nor the pestering journos, who go on and on, whether he would support Anna’s cause.

His repartee on Anna is politically correct, "I support anti-corruption" and he tries to reason out that such issues are too grave to be trivialised and made sensational news of.

When the badgering on Anna reaches a flashpoint, he threatens to raise his voice and marginally raises it a decibel or two higher. But the threat to get angry is only a play act. The star remains unflappable. Query on whether he would make a movie on corruption is met with a diffident response.

"I will when I find a good story. Right now, it would seem as if I am milking the issue."

Even when he doesn’t quite relish the title of marketing guru thrown at him by enthusiastic scribes, he is unflustered. Patiently, he asserts how he never interferes with any department of filmmaking — be it editing, direction or marketing — and is first and foremost an actor. The actor in him is only, too, happy playing Don 2 "easily the best thing to have happened to me." And if you thought his accessibility pre-release of his films — be it for his own production Ra One or Don 2 — is part of a well thought-out publicity blitzkrieg, he begs to differ. An actor with 20 years of stupendous success behind him knows too well. SRK is a brand that sells on its own. What makes him go from city to city, a trend he started after My Name Is Khan, is not to find out as he chuckles "Did we sell more tickets?"

Rather his ghoomo Bharat mission at the producer’s expense is to see the hinterland of India and above all, to meet all those fans who have made him what he is.

But whether their fawning admiration sweeps him off his feet appears doubtful. Yes, for their benefit, he mouths dialogues from his movie, even shakes a leg for them, smiles and waves at suitable intervals. However, behind the charm, the easy wit and light-hearted humour Shah Rukh Khan, the man remains hidden. Even the carefully-created carefree image supported by tattered jeans, stubble and stylised ponytail in place can’t quite unravel the enigma that he is. Perhaps that’s the stuff superstars are made of. And may be that’s what lends hypnotic charm to even the negative roles he essays.

"I make bad look good." Only a SRK can take pride in such statements. "I want people to fall in love with the character I portray." Well, people are already in love both with his real and reel self. Never mind that few have a clue to who the real Shah Rukh is.