Originally posted by: Clochette
Such interesting reads here about a movie KJo made because of his own messed love life and his insecurities since childhood.
I supposed that his crush on Fawad would bring him to showcase the insecurities about fidelity that predominently exist in a homosexual relationship - much more than in heterosexual ones. But then, he deliberately chopped scenes with Fawad to appease the Censerboard because of the ban. Karan isn't - imo - a courageous man in real life.
The "unrequited" love theme became - in my feeling - a glorifying of his own unfulfilled love and - of course - Anushka's character has to die as his love-interest in real life did (eventually) reject Karan's kind of love.
What SRK did, had been something very interesting: he turned something meant as negatively expressed in the movie into something that one could also regard as something positive for oneself...no one can touch at the purety of your love for someone as it is up to you to decide about the nature of your love.
I really, really wonder, if Karan just said to ShahRukh: "could you do a small appearance in the movie and tell your thoughts about unrequited love?"
If you look at Karan's first 5 movies (all done with SRK), he showcased another view on love and relationships...
So, what happened with Karan after 2010??? It was the time when he got involved with Sidharth and Alia, preparing to launch Varun and them in SOTY. He had - after allusions in previous movies - made an openly gay character he wanted SRK to play (quite insensitive, imo, as SRK got Mannat wall graffitis and gossipy inunedos of being gay/bisexual since years). Interestingly, Karan starts the movie with the gay character (former Dean of the college) on the death bed...
His crush on Fawad is why I think he didn't cast him as the lead. Or SRK for that matter. Both of those men were dream men for KJo who he had a thing for at one time or another and so they could not play him by proxy. Fawad had to be the object of desire and since this film could not showcase a gay protagonist, he had to be Anushka's object of desire and instead of her being the one to hopelessly love and not be loved back, the character of Ayan exists instead as KJo's audience surrogate. We know that KJo's female avatar is Kareena but for such a personal story, he needed a more ordinary and authentic representation of himself which means he cannot have an actress play himself. So Anushka cannot play that role and that's why Ayan's character must exist. And SRK or Fawad could not play Ayan/KJo because they are the Dream Boy, the prize for KJo, not Kjo himself.
So a third person is introduced in this love story which didn't exist in the original to make it a straight romance, which may also explain the problems with the script (especially as Aish, SRK, and others are introduced as well further convoluting the dynamics).
Now that you mention that there tends to be more casual cheating in homosexual relationships, at least between two gay men, I can see the character of Ali the DJ in such a role. Only in real life, he would not be cheating with women but with other men. It reminds me of the Tennessee Williams plays where all the over-the-top, histrionic female characters and their sexual appetites are instead based on Tennessee Williams himself as a gay man but those relationship dynamics are straightwashed with the gay man always genderbent into a woman to make it acceptable for the public.
I wonder if SRK agreed to do this cameo because he knew how personal this project was for Karan and felt he could not turn it down. He didn't do a cameo for Rocky Aur Rani which was less personal and Karan also admits that he did not have the strength to ask SRK to do another cameo after Brahmastra. Which I think is another inkling that their relationship is not as strong as it used to be. There were many rumors and innuendo about SRK and Karan as a couple so I wonder if that was something that also turned SRK off of Karan.
Was SRK supposed to play the Rishi Kapoor character in SOTY? I didn't know that. I know he was asked to do a cameo but refused but I didn't realize he would have had a significant role as Karan wanted. I don't blame SRK for saying no. Not for playing a gay character but playing the dean to all these young kids is really not that meaty of a role and would have SRK playing second fiddle to all beginners. It's one thing to play extended cameos for his contemporaries, like Karishma in Shakti: The Power, Sridevi in Army, or Rani in Saathiya, but why should he do these for three debuts who he has little to no connection with?
I didn't realize SRK had been attacked with gay accusations before, minus the rumors about him and Karan. I can see that with his public persona and star image as a romantic hero that he would not be interested in such a role so I don't blame him. I admire Madhuri for playing a lesbian in part because it's so rare for a star of her caliber and prestige to openly play such a role and I was shocked at that, so I really can't see SRK or Salman or especially a male star do this. Women still get more leniency on gay/bisexual relationships in ways that male stars do not, especially in such a patriarchal society as India. I know Fawad got a lot of flack in the Desi community for playing a gay character in Kapoor & Sons so that was quite brave of him, especially considering he had just launched his film career in India.
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