The SRK Angle :)

Just an account of what transpired in an encounter which later became a meeting and then some. I may have exaggerated the atmosphere and ambiance. Maybe. Maybe not. But it was definitely how I remembered it. And added with some dramatic effect, it might as well have been the scene itself, rather than a behind the scene sequence. I'd like to call this-

The SRK Angle :)

He walked in and I was just staring. I was simply staring. It was like the light dimmed and there was spotlight on him. And then there was me. True to his name that is larger than life itself, his style too, impeccable, even after a long flight, he was walking, and I, I was staring, no, gawking, yeah, I was gawking AT him. But he is not as large as his bodyguards. Oh no, he isn't.

Nor is he as scary looking, come to think of it. Heck, even the Head of Security looked so bloody scary then, so scary, that I temporarily forgot I was even related to him. But not this fine specimen of the male species, HE, the very reason I took the job in the first place, looked flustered, and if I may say so myself, a lil scared himself too. Ha-ha, as if.

I was told -in hushed tone- that some mere minutes prior to my seeing him, they (the troop) was faced with a rather difficult bunch of fans, difficult, but still nothing these not quite young men (bodyguards) surrounding him can't handle. But still.

Also, apparently, this bunch of difficult, okay, maybe difficult is putting it rather lightly, but still from a point of view of a fan, while it is understandable why they were acting that way, it was still not quite er, -how should I say this, without sounding bad?- civilised, were creating unnecessary (or necessary, if you know what I mean) traffic at the entrance of the hotel.

Turned out they were not even locals. And they attacked, well, attempted to anyway, two bodyguards, only for the hunks (yeah the bodyguards are foine themselves) to keep a good hold on them. They (said fans) then started shouting profanities of many kinds and made a comment on a rather personal subject. What it was, I have no idea till this day. Okay, fine, I have some ideas. But they were never confirmed.

So in the midst of all the drama, one of them happened to yell I LOVE YOU SHAHRUKH KHAN', and this young man, made the man of the hour stopped short in his track. The rest of the troop followed suit. Actually, not the whole troop, only them bodyguards did. The rest of the troop, which also consisted of some event coordinator, manager and all the chinbengs' did not bother to stop. Well, not right away anyway.

Now back to centre-stage, there HE stood all 5'7 (is that his height??) and with deliberate slowness he turned, slightly at first, and then fully, and all flushed face addressed the crowd. By address, I mean he waved and gave his signature Adab' and Namaste' gestures, waved some more and said, "Thank you, thank you." And smiled his shy, but still very appreciative smile, and after a few more nods and some wild impromptu photography session, some of the members of the troop neared him and one of them whispered to him as if rushing him in, he nodded looking ever so slightly annoyed and you could totally tell he was muttering "Okay, okay, I understand." And he turned back to resume his track, but not before smiling and waving to the now slightly controlled, but still loud, crowd.

Wait where was I in all of this? Oh yeah. He was walking in, and that was when I saw him. The members of the troop were in a somewhat heated discussion, and HE looked totally uninterested, but was still cordial enough to participate. I caught words like no time', this is a hotel', security not tight enough' and a few other things from some of them, but I simply don't understand. The last comment did it. You could tell even he was annoyed. Can you blame him? We, on the other hand, were mad! Like angry-mad! Security not tight?' Oh, how dare they?

I caught them talking amongst each other saying "Dia orang pun susah mau kawal, dia pula manyak kasi muka. Macam ni la orang besar, takda paham kah kita ada schedule mau ikut. Sikit-sikit fans datang mau berhenti. Ini macam kalu toksa la bikin show. Tepi jalan ambik gambar cukup la."

TRANSLATION: "It is so hard controlling them, and he is giving them too much face. Big names are like him, does he not understand that we have a schedule to follow. Every single time he's approached by fans, he wants to stop. If this is the case, there's no need to have a show. Just take pictures by the roadside."

Needless to say, I WANTED TO CEKIK THEM. Eh, I mean STRANGLE them! I mean, a superstar is greeting his fans, whether they were being difficult or not, and this people getting so worked up about it? I mean, we understand that you have a schedule to follow, but hey! What's your problem? It wasn't like he was super late or anything. He was very well on time. And he was already at the hotel. Can you blame him that HIS fans have been eagerly waiting just to get a glimpse of him, and him for obliging?

And I also heard that those fans were waiting for a really, really long time. Apparently they heard some days before that their favourite star is coming. Not knowing when exactly, they came one and came all, first thing in the morning. And they were even told that the heartthrob cancelled his flight, and wasn't coming and they were told to go back. Hmm, good thing they were not deterred, were they!!!

Anyway, there I was. Looking, oops, gawking at him, as if staring long enough can make my heart beat any slower than its rapid rate. Calming myself down, taking a few deep breaths, uttering words of prayers, hoping, praying, that I don't mess up and make an utter fool of myself, which I'm bound to be doing, I was dead sure about it, but still, I was hopeful, after all, na umeedein gunaah hoti hai, right?

As if on cue, HE looked up, and my rapidly beating heart skipped a beat, as I willed myself to not look like I have been staring the whole time. It was futile. Coz he smiled the all-knowing smile, and just at that very point, the others decided to look at what has caught his interest. I willed myself to disappear with all the scrutinising looks I was getting, well, all but one. He looked at me like he only just saw me at that time. He probably did just saw me then. I mean, I'm not the superstar here. No die-hard fan staring at me from far-far away.

Right then, those other people started talking in hushed tone and very discreetly (NOT!) they tried to move him away from us. By us I mean the bodyguards and all the entire security team, and well, me and two others. Ha-ha! I'm afraid you've made the wrong move brother. I mean bros and sis.

He's not going anywhere without us. Okay, without his bodyguards. The aforementioned head of security (to whom -if you remember- I am related to, rather closely, might I add) gave them a look. That's it. Just one look and they were rendered in a total loss of words.

Since the head of security is going to appear a few more times, I might as well give him a name. Let's call him Roy (not his real name, for obvious reason).

So as Roy here was giving them such deadly glare, making things so awkward for the fellow troopers, and it was so silent all of a sudden, so silent, that it took the KING himself to do something to break the unintentional pause.

And he did just that, didn't he? Clearing his throat, he said, "I think it is best I go freshen up for a lil bit, and then we can go through our program."

As he turned, he continued, "Guys, you coming?"

That was all the invitation we needed.

This is just the first part that I managed to pen down (and then typed). If it has in any way interest you, and left you wanting to know more, I'd be more than happy to share the rest of what happened that day with you.

While my views/thoughts/opinions may be biased, okay FINE, they definitely are biased, I also wish to say that not everything about this living legend I highly approve of.

While some have been quick to point out that he is arrogant, and some would respond, so what, he is an artiste, a very famous one at that, so it's completely okay. I'd like to say, nope, it's not okay. So am I saying that he is arrogant? Hayye... what do I tell you? Even his arrogance has charm. Usme bhi ada hai. And almost always justified. His arrogance is merely an underlying layer, threatening to unleash itself whenever it deemed necessary (sometimes all the time) but most of the time, what you can see (and sense) is humility. This man is such a humble person. So humble, you'd cry in his presence.

I did say I am biased.

⭐️FaRz