Just finished this very interesting book. Anupama Chopra traces Shah Rukh's childhood roots and then follows his development into a world famous a-list superstar - King Khan. Besides being a fairly comprehensive biography and commentary on the films that Shah Rukh has made, the book also explains some history of the Bollywood industry and gives profiles of actors and directors within the context of Shah Rukh's history and story. (Shah Rukh was educated by the Christian Brothers- interesting connection to SMC, even if obliquely.) The writing style is very accessible, I didn't want to put it down and was sorry when it came to an end. Interesting fact, "From 1990 to 2005, India was the second-fastest-growing country in the world after China. The economy averaged a 6 percent growth, accelerating to 7.5 in 2005"(213).
Shah Rukh began acting in movies in 1992 and continues to the present. He has become the poster boy for this age of economic growth in India. It is said of him that, "Shah Rukh Khan is the face of a glittering new India. He is a modern-day god. On streets in India, his posters are sold alongside those of religious deities. Shrines have been erected in his name. For Indians and the varied non-Indian lovers of popular Hindi cinema, Shah Rukh is bigger than Tom Curise and Brad Pitt combined. Over fifteen years and fifty films, he has straddled Bollywood like a colussus. In the paan-stained studios of Mumbai, Shah Rukh's story, how a middle-class Muslim boy from Delhi became one of the biggest movie stars in the film industry in the world, is legend...The media, in tones that aren't ironical or mocking, refer to him as King Khan" (11).
"But Shah Rukh's life is more than just a dramatic show-biz success story. He is a Muslim superstar in a Hindu-majority country and his life reflects the fundamental paradoxes of a post-liberalization nation attempting to thrive in a globalized world" (11). Finally, "Shah Rukh personified the new millennium Indian who combines a global perspective with local values and is at home in the world" (14).
Shah Rukh began acting in movies in 1992 and continues to the present. He has become the poster boy for this age of economic growth in India. It is said of him that, "Shah Rukh Khan is the face of a glittering new India. He is a modern-day god. On streets in India, his posters are sold alongside those of religious deities. Shrines have been erected in his name. For Indians and the varied non-Indian lovers of popular Hindi cinema, Shah Rukh is bigger than Tom Curise and Brad Pitt combined. Over fifteen years and fifty films, he has straddled Bollywood like a colussus. In the paan-stained studios of Mumbai, Shah Rukh's story, how a middle-class Muslim boy from Delhi became one of the biggest movie stars in the film industry in the world, is legend...The media, in tones that aren't ironical or mocking, refer to him as King Khan" (11).
"But Shah Rukh's life is more than just a dramatic show-biz success story. He is a Muslim superstar in a Hindu-majority country and his life reflects the fundamental paradoxes of a post-liberalization nation attempting to thrive in a globalized world" (11). Finally, "Shah Rukh personified the new millennium Indian who combines a global perspective with local values and is at home in the world" (14).
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