#theFridayFeature — Mannat
(Where Loneliness Begins…)
“Your innermost secrets you should confide to your mother and your fears to your father. I have neither, so I end up confiding it to my acting.”
- Shah Rukh Khan
The heartbeat of millions, the man who conquered love, the man we all ambition to be and the man who sells us dreams lives in a house built with unanswered prayers - ‘Mannat’. Looking at the picture above one cannot help but wonder what more would the Baadshah of Bollywood be asking for from life when he has all we wish for? One close look and we realize that all crowd is beneath, none alongside. Behind Shah Rukh is a palace — ‘land ends’ from where it should begin. Millions of people for themselves, none for him. And in the midst of it all lies a man trying his best to hide his eyes with a smile…
Most people say Shah Rukh is great in portraying emotions. I often wonder why. He may still remain Shah Rukh in every movie and not mould into the character completely but his eyes speak volumes, giving a new dimension to every scene. It’s his look that says ‘Kaun Kambakht Bardasht Karne Ko Pita Hai?’. It’s his eyes that bring tears in yours when he loses the girl in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. Imagine the amount of emotional content the guy must be holding within and living with on a daily basis.
For me, Shah Rukh is a rainbow — beauty with a little rain. It does seem pretty, but with a tinge of tears. Life in itself is the weirdest irony, the man who makes millions smile doesn’t have a reason for himself to laugh about. A girl once had described me beautifully, articulating me to a rainbow too, saying that the more one gets close to you, the more you go afar. Shah Rukh Khan to me is the same.
“When you are in this place of despair, where the world is staring you down into yourself — there’s only one thing you can do to survive — hang on to who you are inside. The world will be unkind to you; it will not be able to see you. You must learn at such times, to be able to see yourself.”
- Shah Rukh Khan
Gulping over 80 cups of coffee and puffing hundreds of cigarettes a day, I wonder what demons is Shah Rukh fighting which leave him unafraid of death itself?
It’s easy for an outsider to look at the moon and judge from a distance. Most forget that the moon derives light from an entity which it can’t control, there’s darkness surrounding it and the stars which seem close from below are actually miles away. When Neil Armstrong put forth his foot, the planet earth seemed like a ball. It gets lonely at the top. Imagine the pain of someone who’s been living on the moon for the last 25 years…
“My life may seem glamorous from the outside but off screen it’s as ordinary as anyone else’s.”
- Shah Rukh Khan
Fame, stardom, money, power are all part of a baggage which comes with other unknown contents. The limelight makes people judge you at all points, no matter what you do. Going to Shah Rukh’s official social media pages, one realizes the serious amount of criticism he’s luminated to. Being a human at the end of the day, the excess amount of love’s obscured in the process…
Imagine waking up in the morning and not having the freedom to decide if you wish to share your thoughts on the social media or not. Imagine being complied to putting up one thought into the false world every single day. We as common people at least have the liberty to cry when we feel sad, imagine Shah Rukh’s struggle of wearing a smile on his lips all through the day irrespective of what he feels within. You and me have the independence to decide whom we wish to meet and what parties we want to attend. Our life is much free from restrictions.
Does Shah Rukh Khan, despite being the Baadshah Of Bollywood, enjoy these facilities?
Being at the top opens your mind to suspicion for one and all. People wish your friendship due to the position you are in. You wonder how genuine the person is. Is he plotting a game behind my back? What if I lose my stardom tomorrow? What if I wake up and no one recognizes me? What if… a phrase that shows an innumerable amount of insecurity.
Can the king himself be insecure too? Rather, my friend, the king is the most insecure.
Think about it.
“Vikram… Stardom ek cocktail hai … fame, power, money … Bahut khatarnaak nasha hai… Uhh… It’s insane… Lekin ek baat maine bohot jaldi samajh li thi… Unhe mat bhulo, joh tumhe tab jaante the jab tum kuch nahi the … Kyunki bas yehi hai, joh tumhe hamesha sach bolenge… Jaise Abhi… Jo abhi waistcoat me hai… Tumhaare saath school me tha na?”
- Luck By Chance, 2009
Thank You Shah Rukh for being an immense inspiration to me and millions of others. Hope your mind finds some peace. Stay happy stay blessed, always!
“Divya Khali Nehemi
Andharach Asto…
(It’s Always Dark
Beneath The Flame…)”
- Marathi Proverb
Well, that’s all for today.
Keep reading, keep sharing and never stop believing!
“I’d die if people didn’t recognize me. I would not be able to walk on the road if people didn’t mob me. That’s what I work for.”
- Shah Rukh Khan
