If there’s one thing everyone is talking about right now, it’s Shah Rukh Khan’s latest release,'Jawan'.
It created a stir at the box office days before its release. In several cities, so many shows were sold out, that cinema halls added new ones as early as 5 am. Fan clubs thronged to the halls with posters.
The dancing and madness at halls were oddly reminiscent of fans dancing to the viral track ‘Jhoome Jo Pathaan’, from the SRK-starrer 'Pathaan', which released earlier in January. In the movie, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan (another of the superstars) sit atop a train and joke about handing the baton to any of the new-age stars. While the dialogues are in jest, we take a look at whether Shah Rukh Khan is indeed the last of superstars.
'Jawan' Promotions: Building Hype the Unusual Way
While promotions of films go on for months, this one was perhaps just sold on Shah Rukh’s star persona.
There were no public appearances made by the cast in different promotional events. They didn’t go from cities to towns to malls to engage with their audience, something most other movie promotions are known to be doing.
The trailer was launched just a week before the film's release, which is quite unusual.
Leading lady of the film, actor Nayanthara made her Instagram debut in the run-up to the release, and four out of her eight posts to date, are about the movie.
However, the hype about the film was real, despite their unusual marketing mechanism. Tickets in many theatres for the first day got sold out within 15 minutes.
The only force pushing it ahead was the sensation that Shah Rukh Khan is. All graphics, posters, and animated posts featured one thing - Shah Rukh Khan in different avatars. The trailer mostly showed him in several action scenes. He promoted the film endlessly on social media too.
The promotional strategy was solely focused on the star factor around the actor.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Fandom
Bengalis rarely get over their favourite “lyadh” or a looming sense of lethargy, so making it to a 7 a.m. show on a working weekday seemed like quite a bit according to Kolkata resident Abhikendu Deb Roy. He was going for the first day, the first show of ‘Jawan’. But “Bengalis arguably also have a larger fandom for the ‘King Khan’,” he says. “The hall was housefull.”
“With each look of Shah Rukh, he was welcomed by a roar of fans,” he described. “The larger-than-life persona of our superstar, that too a double bonanza, is a treat.”
The sentiment was mirrored by Saloni Mukherjee who went for a 7:40 am show in Delhi, and witnessed cheering and dancing in the theatre. “SRK was, is and always will be my first love,” she said.
Videos went viral of the madness at theatres on day one of the film’s release. People were even proposing to Chaleya, the romantic number in the movie. Pictures from fans thronging to the hall from across the globe, including Michigan and Switzerland, surfaced.
It was safe to say, the SRK storm had taken over. Yet again.
The Political-personal Stings
Being in the limelight, superstars are often asked for commentaries or stands on political issues. However, it’s perhaps not so easy, given that most of them are still part of a minority group in the country.
Shah Rukh’s son, Aryan Khan, was arrested in 2021 on drug charges. What followed was a grim media trial. Many then believed that he was singled out unfairly due to his status as a Muslim celebrity in a nation experiencing a surge in anti-Islamic sentiments. Aryan was acquitted of all charges in 2022, while one of the leading officers investigating the case was charged with extortion and corruption charges.
In the movie ‘Pathaan’, some Hindu fringe groups protested against its release, where actor Deepika Padukone was spotted wearing a saffron bikini in a song.
Referring to the constant attack Bollywood was under, SRK during the Kolkata Film Festival, had said, “Cinema is the best place to sustain a counter-narrative that speaks to the larger nature of humankind.”
And it seems, ‘Jawan’ was the film he needed to make that statement prominently.
"Anti-establishment movies aren't new in Bollywood, but what's different here is the relationship the audience has with the star. After all the boycott movements, the Aryan Khan incident and more, just participating in SRK movies has become a language of politics and a language of protest for many," said Sourav Ghosh, PhD candidate, University of California. "Common people have come to realise the might of this government, they've seen that even Shah Rukh Khan is not secure. That sense of victimhood has a role to play, the fans are claiming the star."
A mass-entertainer, delivering a socio-political message is uncommon these days, and ‘Jawan’ does that effectively. "There always was an audience for such movies," added Sourav. "This movie reinvents the angry young man as a protagonist. Nobody thought Shah Rukh would take the mettle of telling the audience such a political message. Here he's giving another version of nationalism, where he's encouraging the audience to ask questions. What we can see emerging, is a version of nationalism, that isn't jingoistic."
The Women Aren't Just Sidekicks in 'Jawan'
In movies with strong male leads, women tend to only play roles restricted to singing, dancing and romancing the lead. Their job description is centred around looking good and adding visual appeal to the movie. They add little to no value to the action scenes. Their appearances are tailored to cater to the male gaze.
In 'Jawan', however, the women are the ones fighting side by side with SRK. There is even a scene with a one-on-one fight sequence between the male and female leads of the movie.
The women here aren't shown as characters in distress, needing saving by the male characters. Their backstories form the crux of the most significant bits of the movie. They are shown to have agency in making choices for themselves.
The Man We Love, On and Off-Screen
This section has mild spoilers.
The Shah Rukh Khan hype is built around the man himself.
SRK has a fanbase built over time. People who’ve grown up watching his movies.
People who’ve admired his journey from being the King of Romance, to shifting gear later on. People go back to the theatre, to cheer for him, even when he delivers a series of not-so-great films. People who root for the man himself.
So in ‘Jawan’ when he says “Bete ko haath lagane se pehle baap se baat kar”, the cheers are extra loud. When he delivers a monologue at the end, looking directly at the audience, the audience knows the mark he’s making.
Hence when Pathaan or Jawan create waves at the box office, it feels like a personal win for many. Shah Rukh Khan is a superstar of the masses.
Shah Rukh had once in an interview with Anupam Kher said that he is the last of the stars. And Jawan perhaps proves that he indeed is.