Pathaan's success proves why SRK is Tendulkar of Hindi cinema

As you sit through the 146 minutes runtime of Siddharth Anand's 'Pathaan' starring actors Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham, the scenes on the big screen are accompanied by joyous hoots and elated claps. In a film that serves brand Shah Rukh Khan well, the crowd at a Delhi theatre repeatedly erupted injoy as they saw Shah Rukh's moments of reckoning in the film in his action-hero avatar.

The affinity of Shah Rukh Khan's brand of entertainment to stardom and superstardom is symbolic ofa blend of respect and admiration unique to Khan. 'Pathaan' is the latest, and a splendid addition in recent times to that legacy.

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It is pertinent to note that Shah Rukh Khan's rise to stardom corresponds to India's economic rise beginningwith the economic reforms of the 1990s. As India grew, so did Khan. Within a few years, he was to become the undisputed leader of Hindi Cinema. Around the same time, Indian cricket saw the rise of Sachin Tendulkar. As the years passed by, Tendulkar first emerged as a force of trust, and then became a force-multiplier in the Indian batting line-up — whose mere standing on the crease was enough to ensure a respite of winnability amongst the fans.

Then came a period of bad formafter the 2003 Cricket world cup. Tendulkar's end was forecastwith wordplay of headline writers ('End'ulkar; wrote a major daily once). But at the height of India's cricketing success in decades with 2011 World Cup win, Tendulkar was on the shoulders of his teammates, revolvingMumbai's Wankhede stadium, as the planet of glory for whom cricket remained the sun.

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Shah Rukh Khan's cinematic presence on the big screen corresponds to Tendulkar's time on the crease of a given cricket pitch. Just like for Tendulkar's admirers, his mere standing on the crease was a force-multiplier for a given day, Khan in the frame of a film scene depicts the product of India’s ambitions that never stopped rising. At times Tendulkar too lost his wicket for a duck or even a golden duck. But then came the first One Day International double century in history in Gwalior, and India’s world cup win a year later.

Shah Rukh Khan’s career too had a period of bad formin the last decade. But it is justthe energy of his sheer ambition to rule the screen that never stopped appealing and has translated into both critical and popular success of Pathaan at present.

To their admirers, Shah Rukh and Sachin are not conventional superstars. They represent the dream-to-reality transition of an entire generation post 1990s reforms. Khan and Tendulkar are an epitome of a nation where struggles can be braved through the path of self-belief. With Pathaan's success, Khan proved that he did not rise like a meteor to fade like one. He is the last of the stars gazed at by the masses for the reason he never stops shining.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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