By Sunayana Kachroo
“Tujhey dekha to yeh jaana sanam, Pyar hota hai deewana sanam”
In a crisp white dress, Kajol runs on a dirt path leading to the middle of the sarsoon ka khet in punjab, a swiss bell rings around the neck of a desi cow, winds pick speed- not too harsh not too subtle, the lush green crops swing in a perfectly choreographed motion, there is sudden pause…as if time has stopped…in anticipation of what is to come…
And there we hear it…the arrival of Raj Malhotra…from London…armed with his guitar, bag-pack and a resolve in his heart, ready to win his lady love and off course as is typical “snatch someone else’s bride”.
“Ab yahan se kahan jaayein ham”
Love him or hate him but the truth is that Shah Rukh Khan has changed the dynamics of love for our generation. Gone were the days of moral and self righteous “sanskari” impractical heroes. It ain’t over until Rahul or Raj or Aryan comes and professes his love to the lady. All is fair in love and it isn’t fair until Rahul gets the girl. This hero schemed, manipulated, planned and sometimes cried endlessly….So unheroic ..So endearing
“jo bhi chahoon woh main paaoon”
SRK, you have been an imperfect lover, flawed, emotional, arrogant, silly, over the top, at times vicious and sometimes ambitious…but the fact is that we have grown up over all that floss and candy of love that you have served us…..You have shown us that Love is not perfect. You are an addiction that we cannot get over..I wish I could see more of Mohan Bhargava of Swades or Kabir Khan of chak de, I wish I could see the glimpses of imperfect Sunil of Kabhi haan Kabhi naa. Sometimes I avoid your movies and then decide to see it anyways thinking “how bad can it be, it is an SRK movie” and sometimes it is really bad and I compensate with your interviews and sometimes I see your movie and just do not admit to my intellectual friends that I have seen it.. and then sometimes…You surprise me…
“dhadkan se tez bhagoon, sapno se aagey”
The thing is that…I would like to see you succeed despite your madness and craziness. We fell in love with the self-made Delhi boy whose journey from defense colony to Mannat happened right before our eyes. We almost said “ja jeele apni zindagi “.The fact that someone from a normal middle class educated family was tasting success in an industry where you are either born into or married to, made you more endearing, we felt personally responsible for your achievements….because…We chose you, we made you —You are were one of us, YOU ARE US.
Happy birthday Shah rukh Khan. Keep on keeping because ”Jo hain samaa kal ho na ho”
(Sunayana Kachroo is a poetess based in Boston, and author of “Waqt Se Pare –Beyond Time.” She also has written songs and dialogues for movies.Recently, Indian singer Sonu Nigam sang a song (Kuch Baaqi hai ) written by Kachroo for the movie Half Widow. Other songs composed by her include “Baras Jaa, Door baitha piya” ekal song by Anuradha Palakurthi; Tera Haath sung by Hrishikesh Ranade, 2009 SaReGaMaPa Marathi winner; and Pyar main nadaan sung by Jasraj Joshi-2013- SaReGaMaPa winner.)
