SRK in a fight again ; banned from Wankhede - Page 38

On Thursday afternoon, when Shah Rukh Khan held a press conference to let the world know what exactly he thought of the MCA officials who had reportedly misbehaved with him and the 14 children he had escorted to Wankhede, it struck a discordant note among his fans and well wishers. This was the second time in three months, that the star had lost his equanimity in public, getting embroiled in a spat that is perhaps unbecoming of his stature.

Cricket and Bollywood have given us some of our biggest and most endearing icons. And much like Sachin Tendulkar, whose staggering career has been keenly followed by generations of fans, SRK's hard won stardom has earned him a loyal following across the world. Until now.

The man known for his quick silver wit and his impeccable sense of humour, has been repeatedly drawn into situations where he could have used a bit of both.

After all, this is a star who has famously held, "I'd rather have peace of mind, than a piece of a**." And that he'd rather do work which his children - Aryan and Suhana - would be proud of. He may have been known for mischief, but never misdemeanour.

According to Shobhaa De, Thursday's press conference was a "wrong strategic move image wise," given that he "displayed no remorse nor embarrassment at what had happened."

She says, "Had he expressed regret and apologised for his aggressive, abusive behaviour (regardless of the provocation), he would have earned a few brownie points instead of alienating fans. Someone should've advised him better."

SRK is not new to barbs, pot shots. But if he responded to criticism earlier with his brand of cheeky humour, he simply goes for the scruff now. As Shirish Kunder will tell you.

Does that mean SRK does not really care about his image any more? It definitely looks like that, going by the recent spate of controversies: smoking in a stadium during an IPL match, getting in public brawls, turning up for parties in a completely inebriated state. This does not look like the king of coolth adored by millions.

SRK's friends and loyalists would rubbish it. "I have known him for years. He has not changed," claims Chunkey Pandey. Another veteran journalist who has known him professionally for decades blames the relentless scrutiny of the electronic media for the star's outbursts.

"Pushed to a corner, everyone will behave like that. Look at the way media has exploded. Every thing a star does, even the most innocuous stuff is grist for the TV channels. And some people just love to get their two seconds of fame by dissing out the stars."

Obviously, it takes an SRK to polarise the cricket and Bollywood crazy nation. There are some who swear by him. Take for the instance the parents of the 14 kids who are in the eye of the storm. According to Bhavna Pandey, he was there to pick them up when a MCA official manhandled one of them. Says the fitness expert and close friend, "We trust him. He has always taken care of our kids. Any parent would have reacted the way he did."

Mushtaq Sheikh, SRK's close friend and writer of RA.One emphasises, "It's easy to judge superstars simply because they are in the public eye. But it is unfair to have different rules for them."

De disagrees, "Some celebrities feel they have a sense of entitlement. They expect not just preferential but deferential treatment all the time. Being an IPL stake-holder SRK should have known the rules, regardless of the enthusiasm of the kids."

SRK's increasingly erratic behaviour has become a cause of concern for some. But for a different generation of fans, brought up on a diet of eccentric celebrity behaviour, this is par for the course. Maheep Kapoor, whose daughter Shanaya was part of the group of children at Wankhede, Said, "My daughter came home and narrated the incident to me, she was all excited. She is 12 years old after all. But I knew immediately that it would be blown out of proportion."

"Even my 21-year-old son has shrugged off the entire episode, it does not really affect SRK's stardom," says the veteran journalist.

And yet others speculate on whether his tumultuous personal life and the rocky professional life may have had something to do with his unraveling. "This unnecessary show of defiance and cocky behaviour reflects a deep rooted insecurity," said a veteran film journalist, refusing to be named. While his loyalists may argue that SRK is in peak form - what with is IPL team on a winning streak and a spate of big banner films in his kitty- others quietly point at Mannat. There is trouble brewing behind the fortified mansion. And not all of it has to do with cricket.

Whatever be the provocation, the meltdown of one of the country's biggest icons may be just a comment on the fragility of stardom, the vagary of age. The man who could sell anything from paint to plastic money, could simply tilt and spread his arms to make generations of women go weak in the knees, recently abused a cub reporter for using the dreaded word to describe his vanity project: mid-life crisis.

De described the troubled star as he appeared on TV: "He cut a sorry figure. He was a far cry from the old SRK, who was always on the top of his game."

SRK's Wankhede Blast

Transcript of a part of the conversation (Recorded by an eye-witness):

SRK: Do you want to arrest me? Arrest me and take me now.

An MCA official: Use your language properly.

SRK: You use your language properly.

An MCA official: Ok?

SRK: You use your language properly.

Noise. Someone shouts SRK's name, tries to pacify him.

Someone shouts: Le ke chal isse.

Someone says: Police ko bulao.

SRK: Kaun tha woh jo dubara… hai m** ka l****.

Someone shouts: Everybody out, everybody out.

An MCA official: Inko baat karne ki tameez nahi hai

Noise.

SRK: Who's saying to take me away, I stay here.

Noise

(Someone says something to SRK)

SRK: Which officer?

Noise

SRK (shouting): Tell your official, wherever he's from... BCCI to tell him to shut the f*** up, don't talk to me like that... wherever you are from, sir. Tell the mother*** not to talk to me like that... see it is his fault… nobody will speak (shouting).

Noise

Someone says: Nobody will speak. Come on take it easy.

SRK: Ek minute, kya problem hai aapko? Kya bole aap? Haath lagayenge aap?

Someone: Laga ke batayun?

Someone: Jyada baat mat kar ae

SRK: Tu Jyada baat mat kar ae, usko bol na zyada baat nahi karne ko, woh baat kar raha hai, yeh bhi zyada baat kar raha hai, lagake dikha lagake dikha… saala woh bol raha hai, yeh bhi bol raha hai.

Noise

SRK: Arre tu beech main se hath naa. Door se ghar mein bolna, paas aake bol. (You, get out of here. Talk from afar at home. Come near me and say what you have to).

Someone: Ae bewada (You drunkard).

SRK: Tu peeche se mat bolna... samne se aake bol ae peeli shirt be*******… yahin gaarh doonga maa*******.

Noise

Fight Club

Shah rukh vs Shirish Kunder: At Sanjay Dutt's party to celebrate the success of Agneepath, SRK bashes up an inebriated Shirish Kunder for misbehaving with him. The protagonists patch up after Kunder, along with wife Farah Khan, visit Mannat to calm Shah Rukh down.

Shah rukh vs Sallu: At Katrina Kaif's birthday bash at Olive Bar and Kitchen in Bandra in July 2008, Sallu allegedly started picking on SRK. Apparently, he was upset with SRK because he had turned down his request to do a guest appearance in Main Aur Mrs Khanna, which is being produced by Salman and Sohail. The night did not end well.

Shah rukh vs amar singh While hosting a Filmfare Awards function some years ago, SRK had joked (as he typically does) that he could see darindagi (evil intent) in Singh's eyes. "Amar Singh, aap qafi goondagardi kar rahen hain (You are being quite a bully)," he had said.

Inputs from Vickey Lalwani and Kunal M Shah