A brand that gives an identity to a Nation - SRK!
Love him or hate him. Become a FAN or Despise him. You can never ignore him. Without doing a film for about a year, he is still one of the most talked-about stars in Indian Cinema and even after many flops, he is still the most influential man in the world from India.
In several countries, people recognise India as a country of Shah Rukh Khan and even the local population, not Indians who settled there, adore him for his acting and charisma on screen. What did he really do to become such a brand? How come three letters be such popular and influential?
Some might argue Dileep Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand, Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, NTR, ANR, Krishna, Chiranjeevi, Mohan Lal, Mammotty are pinnacles when it comes to actors becoming stars and ruling Industry while also influencing it big time and SRK, Salman Khan is not as big a deal because media is hyping it up.
If media can really hype up a person, Akshay Kumar with his constant and consistent "Desh Bhakth" patriotic films could have been the biggest star that Indian Cinema has ever seen with box office also on his side. But he remains an actor who is highly popular, who makes more films and therefore a person more in the news. But in case, tomorrow he faces a tough phase like SRK or Salman at the box office, will there be an uproar from fans asking him to announce a film? Will there be people waiting outside his bungalow or house, asking to come out just once to see his glimpse? Will there be people walking from Delhi or various parts of the country to his residence in Mumbai not because they can't afford a train ticket but because they want to show their passionate love towards him?
This is not to degrade Akshay Kumar or his efforts to keep the business running but these lines are purely to answer those fans and people in the film business that constantly undermine star power and connect of SRK with the public due to his current flops.
From German Consulate employees to Vice-Chancellor of big Universities in Europe to Ministers and famous politicians like Barack Obama from other countries, SRK's films could influence them or become a part of their speech just because of the part of the culture they have been over the past two decades.
He has been doing a lot of charity through his charitable foundation, Mirza and he never speaks about it in public. He saved Aishwarya's ex-manager recently from the fire at Bachchan's Diwali party but did not try to show it off as his heroic act. Even Salman acknowledged his bravery but he stayed away from the media attention to it all.
He is a man who started his career with roles that killed, tortured and stalked, terrified women but he became the symbol of love and a man who spreads love all over the World. His achievements are more valuable than his religious beliefs, his brand name is more valuable than his stand on political situations and his chivalry is more inspirational than his vices. It is better to give him his due respect whether you hate or love him and get inspired to become such a brand than just spread negativity filled with vicious envy. Happy Birthday, SRK!