Dear Shah Rukh,
It’s hard to say I’m your biggest fan after watching Fan. A strange contradiction, that. But maybe that’s the point you were making. That fandom isn’t measured in decibels or screen time. It’s unspoken. Constant. And, occasionally, complicated.
I was four when I first saw you on television. Circus, 1989, Doordarshan. The Onida set in our living room at times buzzed at the corners sometimes, but nothing interfered with your entrance. I didn’t know what love meant, but in those moments, I remember pausing. And gazing. Wide-eyed. Something about that crooked smile, that hair falling defiantly over your forehead, and the way your shirt always looked like it had better things to do than stay tucked in. A tilt of the head, and a stretch of the arms in that signature style sealed it.
Deewana came next. Followed by Darr, Baazigar, Anjaam. Each performance felt like decoding a secret. Menace and magnetism. A combination Hindi cinema hadn’t seen before. You weren’t the conventional hero. You were unpredictable. Threatening and tender, by turns.
By the late ’90s, you were already mythic. So when I heard you were filming Dil Se at my school in Dalhousie, I knew this was fate circling back. They’d converted our powder blue-roofed porch into a radio station for the shoot. Part of the title track was filmed in the graveyard behind the school. I showed up to class on March 15 with a nervous thrill. You’d wrapped shoot on the 14th.
A day. I missed you by a day.
Seventeen years later, I saw you: not on TV, not on a poster, but real, and standing right in front of me. October 21, 2014. You were 48 then. Wiser, sharper, still impossibly charismatic. And I had ninety minutes to gaze, unblinking, undistracted, no static this time.
Over the years, critics and fans alike have etched entire volumes on your filmography: Sunil of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Raj of DDLJ, Mohan Bhargava of Swades, Kabir Khan of Chak De! India. But Fan, that one, you held back. Gaurav Chandna wasn’t just another character. He was the mirror turned inward. A reminder that the distance between a star and their admirer is often more brutal than beautiful.
“There’s a personal me, there’s an actor me and there’s a star me,” you once said. Fan brings together all of that. First shot onward, where we’re taken through a montage of vintage Shah Rukh Khan, Fan ceases to be a film. It’s a phenomenon. A celebration of a superstar! It’s not without reason you’re hailed King Khan. And Fan proves it. In more ways than one.
It’s not just the prosthetics or the diction or the twitchy mannerisms that set Gaurav apart. It’s that he feels so… lived in.
The opening scene. Outside Mannat. The sea of people. The outstretched arms. A wave, a roar, a million prayers launched into the Mumbai air. But Fan doesn’t linger on the star; it finds Gaurav in the crowd. Shoved, breathless, reaching but never quite arriving. That small devastation is the film’s sharpest cut. His face holds everything at once: joy, disbelief, hope, and the slow unraveling. It’s crushing to watch that flicker of cheer fade into something closer to despair.
And the scene before, where Gaurav performs to your songs at his local Sitara competition with your original footage playing behind him, gives a high only a fan will understand.
And my! The scene where Gaurav finally sees his superstar for the first time, imitates his style and suddenly admits nervous ho raha hoon…! He had me rooting for him all through. Where was that Shah Rukh Khan all this while?
As any other critical fan, I’ve been disappointed in some of your bad choices: Chennai Express, Happy New Year, Dilwale. They made me wince. But Fan dusts off the bad memories. Then again, only you have the luxury to pick up any role and still be loved and hailed a superstar.
You’ve often said in your interviews, ‘I am the best.’ For those outside the fandom, it may come off as arrogance or theatrics. But those of us who’ve stayed through the highs, the missteps, the comebacks know better. It always felt like conviction, the kind that holds steady even when everything else shifts.
So no, I may not be your biggest fan. But I am one. And in a crowd of millions, maybe that’s enough.
Thanks for the post.Really thank you!
I think this is a real great blog. Awesome.
Muchos Gracias for your article post.Thanks Again.
You seem like a huge srk fan. I think he’s pretty average. Hard work yes, but it’s mostly his luck which has brought him here this far!
What a heartening tribute to the legend!
Shahrukh is the best. Nice tribute.
I’m a Salman Khan fan only.
You forgot some of his really bad films – Koyla for one 🙂
Shah Rukh Khan can’t act if his life depended on it but he is still the greatest superstar. That’s what you call luck!
That is why SRK is the best. Unparalleled!
I am from Tunisia and I love Shah Rukh Khan. Please say my hi to him <3
Shahrukh Khan needs to do more films like Fan. He was a stunner. Please give him a good script someone. Writers, are you listening?
I am a huge SRK fan and this letter just made my day. Thank you 🙂
This is the third post I’m reading on your blog and I must say I’m so enjoying it. You have a way with words. I’ll be a regular visitor here.
Awww! Loved reading this. Thank you soooo much. I’m a big Shahrukh Khan fan. He means the world to me. Thank you again. There is nobody like him.
Really good post! Quite enjoyed reading. Keep up the excellent writing.
Great stuff… Enjoyed reading…
Nice website and beautiful post man… Made my day! Have a good day
Cheers!