One of the necessary outcomes in an actor’s journey to superstardom is the building of a comfort zone of people around oneself as none likes to be lonely at the peak. In Bollywood’s terminology this is known as the making of a camp around a star. Ideally, everyone would want to work in a friendly atmosphere with people one is close to. Stars too are no exception, but given the massive ego that accrues onto them courtesy their larger-than-life calling, they perhaps are more comfortable with a few more assenting voices around them.
For years, Shah Rukh Khan too has nurtured and maintained a similar work environment. Rarely one has seen the actor venture too far, to accommodating untested filmmakers opting instead to work with friends like Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra and until a while ago Farah Khan as his directors. Occasionally, when he did submit his talent to a different director in the recent past, it has always been for a home production.
However, call it changing times or changing perspectives in the superstar’s viewing of things, some of SRK’s recent moves however indicate that he is back in the open, experimenting with different directors again. The first indication was good friend and filmmaker Karan Johar’s recent, very quiet announcement of his next directorial venture kicking off with two newcomers. Of course he added that Shah Rukh would be the film’s co-producer. And no discord notes should be read here either in the equations of these two still thickest of industry buddies.
However, time and again Karan had been known to keep on stating that he would never ever think of directing a film without SRK in it. Farah Khan too had been harping on a similar line for years now, until Tees Maar Khan happened with the subsequent fall out hardly even being history. SRK and Karan as we mentioned however remain pals as ever. But the event’s happening was opened to debate speculations on whether it marks the beginning of Karan considering other alternate star options in the future for his subsequent films.
The writing on the wall for those who can see has been quiet evident with Dharma Productions’ casting and projects of late. There was a time when even if a Dharma film was not directed by Karan, as in the case of Kaal or Kal Ho Naa Ho, SRK still had a visible presence in it. While he did a song for Kaal, his indeed was a more influential part in Nikhil Advani’s Kal Ho Naa Ho than its lead pair of Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta. A Karan Johar direction of course could never be thought without SRK, their four films’ (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Kabhie Alvida Naa Kehna, My Name Is Khan) success rate being a credible testimony. That’s why when Karan announced his next directorial venture with two new faces, it left many surprised.
Simultaneously happened another development with SRK agreeing to do a film with Vishal Bharadwaj, where the bigger surprise was the fact that it was being produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. Incidentally, Sajid happens to be one of Shah Rukh’s current bête noire Salman Khan’s closest friends.
Moreover, Vishal Bharadwaj wasn’t a director with whom SRK has had a very cordial past record. Case in point is an incident that happened couple of years back before Kaminey. According to a source close to the director, “Vishal had sent a script to Shah Rukh expressing the desire to work for him. Shah Rukh had sat on it indefinitely without any response and when Vishal insisted on a response, he had said that the script hadn’t interested him enough. An upset Vishal had then asked Shah Rukh to return the script to him leading to a major showdown between the two.” Things however changed for the better, when recently SRK publicly expressed a desire to work with industry’s new and talented directors like Vishal Bharadwaj, whom he named in his wish list. Vishal reacted to SRK’s favourable review of him as an olive branch from the Khan and both started discussing the possibility of doing a film together.
Around the same time Sajid Nadiadwala had brought the rights of Chetan Bhagat’s latest bestseller Two States for a film adaptation. But when Vishal showed an interest in doing the film with Shah Rukh in the lead, a new problem cropped for Sajid. Being close to Salman and his family he didn’t want to let go his friendship and upset the Khan-daan over a mere film project, even if it was with SRK. Though Shah Rukh told Vishal that he had no issues working with Sajid as a producer of his film leaving the ball on his court regarding if he wanted to work with him or not, Sajid however went to Salman for a go ahead before making any official commitment to SRK. According to a friend of Sajid, “Salman readily gave him the go ahead saying, ‘It’s a different story that I and Shah Rukh don’t get along well, but fact is that he is one of the industry’s biggest stars and doing a film with him will be beneficial to you and your company.’”
Needless to add, Salman’s accommodating attitude was in complete contrast to the way SRK had reacted to Farah Khan’s decision to do Tees Maar Khan with Akshay Kumar. Immediately after voicing her decision Farah was unceremoniously ejected out of SRK’s
inner circle.
Coming back to Two States, Shah Rukh will start shooting for the film next year. Touted as another of his ambitious projects it will not only have him starring in the lead but also joining hands with Sajid Nadiadwala and his company as a co-producer. Now wonder who’s next on Khan’s list to win over in a season of new beginnings and sorting of old misunderstandings.
