From Loving Shah Rukh Khan To Liking Salman Khan
In a continuing series of guest blog posts, Koimoi.com carries the opinion of a self-confessed die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan, who has been put off by her favourite star’s PR drive. And what’s more, she has a kind word or two for Salman Khan. Read on…
Shah Rukh Khan, Veena Malik, Kolaveri, Salman Khan: PR & Its Pitfalls
There was a time when Shah Rukh Khan didn’t try so hard.
He would just be himself and the world would swoon.
It’s become rather obvious by now that the “bike ride with Suhana” was a PR stunt, one that I thought was totally unnecessary.
I am a die-hard SRK fan. Like DIE-HARD. But that doesn’t mean I blindly accept whatever he does like some members of The Crazy Fandom.
PR is out of control these days everywhere. There’s some weird notion that you can manipulate the masses into “liking” you. This is true not only in celeb-land, but also, for instance, in the publishing world where authors (a notoriously anti-social bunch) are encouraged to participate in social media and promote themselves.
For what? Is my question. For effin WHAT?
If your work is good, PEOPLE WILL FIND IT.
That’s how word of mouth works. That’s how stuff goes viral.
It never happens because you “planned it”.
Like in the recent Veena Malik hoo-haa (coz hoo-haa is the only appropriate non-word for it). What did it accomplish? It got her a little burst of publicity over an “issue” that fooled no one as to its veracity. I mean, c’mon.
We’re not a bunch of morons. Are we?
Well, are you more likely to tune in to her Swayamvar show because of the ruckus?
And clearly that wasn’t something Veena herself masterminded. It must have been the PR crew behind Swayamvar.
Cheap controversies = great TRPs.
That seems to be the Indian media’s mantra these days.
The correct way to do PR is without trying (which admittedly makes it a catch-22). That’s how Kolaveri di happened. Whatever you may think of Dhanush’s “soup song”, it went viral in a way the kids could not have foreseen. They’re just hanging out, recording a song, being silly, having fun.
Which brings me back to SRK. I mean, I don’t even think if it’s fair to blame him because I’m fairly certain he’s at least partially influenced by the PR people in his life. He’s not just a man anymore, or even just a star – he’s a brand. And a lot of people have invested in that brand. And when other people try to manipulate the brand, the human being in you sometimes gets lost.
Just ask MJ.
You simply can’t win when you try to manipulate how people perceive you. That’s a losing battle not just for celebs but for all of us. The best you can do is be true to yourself, be authentic, and let the pieces fall where they may.
That’s what Shah Rukh did at the beginning of his career, when he defied every rule from playing the villain to openly flaunting his marriage (at a time when other star heroes were busy preserving their “single” status).
“Be yourself” is Salman Khan’s forte today, and boy does he know how to work it!
When he says “That’s why I’m Salman and he’s Shah Rukh” it breaks my heart. Shah Rukh was way more bindaas than Salman back in the day. Now, Salman’s the one who doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him.
And the result of how that “strategy” is working out for him is plain for everyone to see.
How else can you explain Bodyguard?
Shakila Hashem is a Bollywood buff by birth. When she’s not obsessing about the Khans at getfilmy.wordpress.com, she freelances as a writer and script analyst in New York City.
More Guest Blogs On Koimoi.com
What Rajnikanth Means To Us – A Tamil Boy’s Perspective
Romance, Tehzeeb & The Lover by Prasoon Joshi
A Hurried Producer’s Guide To Promotion & Marketing by Jaideep Sahni
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43 Comments
SRK .IS THE KING OF BOLLYWOOD.
BCOZ HE HAS GIVEN A MORE BLOGBUSTER IN THE BOLLYWOOD..
SALMAN KI ABHI SIRF 4 FILME HIT HUI HAI.
SRK NE TO JITNE B FILME KI HE..VO SAB HIT HE..
BCOZ AFTER ALL..SRK KIHITO WO FILM HE..DDLJ.
JO AAJ BHI HIT CHAL RAHI HE..
SO I THINK SRK IS BETTER THAN SALMAN KHAN..
I cannot say that srk was ever a fav of mine. I hav watch indian movies for over 50 yrs and to date the one genuine I find is Salman he is true to himself there is an innocence in his movie that I find endearing even if sometimes they are a bit silly but I love him more at times like these shows me it takes and intelligent man to play the part of being silly etc
there’s no comparison between srk n salman or anybody. he is the king n he’ll be the king….srk needs his fan right now and thats how his fans showing support….go have a change of heart in somewhere else. leave him alone….
salman khan bollywood badsha . B’cos he is givimg more block blaster movie in bollywood
All u haters of srk just tell me why all A listed actors are compared with srk ,from Amitabh sir to salman to Amir n all.
Thats because he’s worth it,he has proved himself.I’ve never seen salman or amir being compared to each other or to amitabh sir.
He’s there in business from long,delivered whole lot of hits,biggest star overseas..
Gudevening everybudy, 1st of all whoever was special guest i dont knw her, but for ur kind information as u said that srk became a brand and nothing more than that so what r u doing by writing Against him trying to get a bite from that brand. See mam onething we r smart enough to undstand what is pr stunt nd what is normal, we dont need that somebudy from newyork hav to make us undstand that. Nd what is salman khan made of we knw very well , nd plz believe me bodyguard nd ready r simple masala movies where acting have 0 importance.
Bole to…Kuch bhi karneka lekin salman bhai ka ego ht nahi karneka. bole to Sallu is the best actor in bolliwood.
Amazinggggly written! Thank you for a very clear and smart article Ms. Hashem.
It is so funny because I was also a very die hard SRK fan. In his Baazigar days, when I was the one who introduced him(his films) to my family. And now my family still loves him, except me. I am the one who just sees everything under the surface and thats how I developed a disliking towards SRK.
I was always a fan of Salman. But now since I dont like SRK anymore. All my love has gone towards Salman. And the more I know about him the more I love him.
Okay i have read all the comments, every srk hater mentioned He is egoistic??HE NEVER SAYS HE IS THE BEST HE SAYS PEOPLE MADE HIM BELIEVE HE CAN FLY, HE IS THE BEST, INTERVIEW IS SOMETHING TO TALK BOUT OURSELF NOT ABOUT OTHERS, AND HE TALKS ABOUT HIMSELF WHAT IS WRONG IN THAT?? AND HE ALWAYS THANK PEOPLE FOR ALL THE SUPPORT NOT LIKE YOUR SALMAN KHAN WHO NEVER THANKS, IF PEOPLE MADE HIM KING WHY ARE YOU SALMAN FANS JEALOUS OF HIM??? CUZ SALMAN CANNOT BE CALELD AS KING OR BAADSHAH OF BOLLYWOOD, THATS WHY YOU ARE JEALOUS, SHAHRUKH NEVER TELLS IM THE KING OR IM THE BEST, HE SAYS I DONT THINK IM THE BEST OR IM THIE KING HE SAYS IM IN THE MIDDLE SOMEWHERE, HE IS SUCH A HUMBLE PERSON YOU GUYS NAMED HIM EGOISTIC, HIS HUMILITY IS THE BIGGEST ASSET,WHY DOES EVERY ACTOR GET COMPARED WITH SHAHRUKH ??? BECAUSE HE IS EVERYTHING, ONE DAY HE IS COMPARED WITH AAMIR, NEXT DAY SALMAN, NEXT DAY AKSHAY, NEXT HRITHIK, NEXT AMITABH.. SHAHRUKH IS PEOPLES ACTOR, AND CAN GET ALONG WELL WITH MEDIA, IF YOUR SALMAN DOESNT HAVE SENSE OF HUMOR WHAT CAN SHAHRUKH DO? AND SHAHRUKH DOES SOCIAL SERVICE LIKE CHARITY AND HELPING PEOPLE BUT HE NEVER ANNOUNCE I DID THIS I DID THAT LIKE YOUR SALMAN KHAN, BEING HUMAN HUH? when did salman started all this shit? after doing all the crimes, killing animals, driving over people on the road, beating women. there is no comparison between salman and shahrukh , salman fans are so cheap.. ENOUGH SAID!
I luv Salman Bhai..Bollywood me wohi toh ek mard dikhte hai baaki toh doodh peete bachche hai..
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