The year of the king: How Shah Rukh Khan saved Bollywood in 2023

Doing justice to writing about Shah Rukh Khan is an impossible task. How could it not be, when seasoned authors have penned pages upon pages about the legendary superstar? Bodies of work testify to his skillset, documentaries and fan-made shorts highlight his professional charm and facts and figures are recorded in history as numbers that, too, bow in awe, dwarfed by a singular man's prowess.

No, this is something else; unique in a way where what is penned is personal, yet another drop in the ocean in a cacophony of praise for the man who manages to hold a conversation with his admirers without uttering a word face-to-face. After all, it is not the overwhelming sense of adoration, but the man himself, that has become an emotion embedded into every fan and follower's being.

2023 - the year of the King

This year began with a comeback that redefined the very term. Shah Rukh, with his chiselled body and hair tied back in a messy ponytail, rekindled a sensual flame with Pathaan, the likes of which many fans may have been burnt by when Don was released. Smashing box office figures with a softness that remains specific to the superstar, even in an action avatar, the King decided that 2023 was the year he would shade his inviting eyes with sunglasses and let his choreographed fight sequences do the talking.

The successive stride of Jawan swayed even the most ardent naysayers, as Vikram Rathore won hearts and his son influenced minds by dabbling into overtly political themes. "Deal with the father before threatening the son," poised an aggressive Vikram, sending shockwaves throughout the world. Was it happenstance that the line came after a harrowing personal ordeal involving Aryan Khan? One can, of course, always be naive and dub it a perfectly planned coincidence.

Shattering records, Shah Rukh did not halt his journey at Jawan. December 21 brought forth the arrival of Dunki, and, if initial fan reviews are to be believed, the film is already a "timeless masterpiece."

Hall of fame

Most people go through life collecting milestones, adding feathers to their caps, and amassing their fortress of fortunes. Sometimes they struggle. Sometimes, they are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. However, each achievement is an external element – a thing that says to the world, "This is my legacy."

But how does one begin to glorify or sing praises of an actor who has become a milestone, in and of himself? How does one fully fathom the weight of being Shah Rukh Khan, with the world's eyes turned towards him in either envy or amazement? How does one take in the sheer enormity of his influence, hoping, praying, building bridges in hopes to one day be able to simply be in the same room as the superstar?

Cut from a different cloth

In a media landscape inundated with content that does not shy away from its open declaration of hatred for women, Shah Rukh offers Pathaan in 2023 where a woman saves his character from goons by asserting physical dominance through combat.

At a time when Animal overperforms and immortalises every misogynist's fantasy of overpowering, mistreating, cheating on, and dominating women, Shah Rukh puts forth Jawan, where an all-women prison is the path to salvation for a struggling India.

There is a determination like no other in the star to, perhaps, rectify previous instances of problematic themes in films, while also showcasing women as equals and pivotal players. Make no mistake, a Shah Rukh Khan film will always be a Shah Rukh Khan film. But a sense of warmth radiates from his content at a point in time where gender alienation and on-purpose offence are the norm.

Above all else

I've never hidden the fact that I have been in love with most things Shah Rukh represents since a very young age. I did not understand why, at first. I found myself reaching for Main Yahaan Hoon in times of despair, or Dard-e-Disco when I wanted to make light of my pain. I have found comfort and joy in his films, while fully being cognizant of certain elements in some that have not aged well.

Over the course of my life, as stars came and went, with newer names replacing previous icons on neon signs and cinema hoardings, Shah Rukh has persevered. It hasn't been easy, with many having written him off after a string of films that simply would not do well.

But, to watch him in 2023 as he gleefully danced to Jhoome Jo Pathaan after delivering one of the biggest hits of the year, or to know that his film's trailer played on the Burj Khalifa because that is his stature, feels overwhelming as a fan. There is an alarming desire to gatekeep while fully comprehending the impracticality of the same, given that he is one of the biggest names in the world.

However, it does feel like the world is waking up to what I – what we, his followers – already knew and have known since we have loved him. He is, and will always remain, the last of the stars. Even in action avatars, no one loves like him, and he continues to be the messiah of romance. He is, and will always remain the King of Bollywood, who has left behind a legacy as inviting as his trademark open-armed stance.

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