Why Women Love Shah Rukh Khan

Brut India

Author Shrayana Bhattacharya met countless Indian women over 15 years. They all had one thing in common.

Transcript

00:00He always kisses the neck.

00:01So a lot of women would say that, you know,

00:03when men don't know what to do with women's bodies in bed,

00:07but they should learn from what Mr. Khan does,

00:09at least in his movies.

00:10In DDLJ, he's peeling carrots.

00:12He's not a feminist icon, but he's a female icon.

00:16Hello?

00:16Yes, Papa, Shah Rukh.

00:17Actually, I'm Shah Rukh Khan.

00:19♪♪

00:23They love him for the comfort, entertainment,

00:26and fun that he's provided them.

00:28Amongst women, I heard his name, Mr. Shah Rukh's name,

00:32much more than I heard many other actors.

00:35I don't think anyone has embodied romance,

00:39the sort of alternative masculinity, right?

00:42A softer, kinder, more vulnerable masculinity

00:46in his films, in his interviews, in his songs,

00:48in his performances on stage as well, more than him.

00:53And there are so many stories I felt that about India

00:57and really Indian women as well that he could tell.

01:00And, you know, he was our first post-liberalization superstar.

01:04He's ridiculously sexy,

01:06according to all the women that I spoke to.

01:09I contend that he's been making South Asian men

01:11feel inadequate since 1992.

01:14♪♪

01:21I realized that each time these women would talk about

01:25they would also immediately start talking about

01:28the men in their real lives.

01:30And in a way, his icon allowed for a safe way

01:34to critique masculinity, men, and very oppressive,

01:39interpersonal, and intimate relationships

01:41that these women were in.

01:42♪♪

01:50One of the themes that's running through the book

01:51is it's because they feel so disappointed

01:54and unloved in their real lives

01:56that the fantasy of Mr. Khan starts to compensate for that.

01:59Everyone would always point to the fact

02:01that he speaks so well of womanhood.

02:06And in his interviews, in his movies,

02:08there's a kind of kindness, the way he speaks to women.

02:12And I even interviewed lots of film critics for the book,

02:14and they also highlighted that it was a way of speaking

02:18to women that they just had never seen a man on screen

02:21speak like that before.

02:22The second was everyone would talk about

02:25how he was in the kitchen,

02:26how he was always helping women in the kitchen.

02:28So in DDLJ, he's peeling carrots.

02:30Even in his last public interview,

02:32the last big interview was with David Letterman.

02:34He was cooking for David Letterman in the kitchen.

02:37And then the third thing, which in fact has been mentioned

02:40by a few people who write about Mr. Khan,

02:42but I heard this time and time again,

02:45is that he always kisses the neck.

02:47So a lot of women would say that, you know,

02:49when men don't know what to do with women's bodies in bed,

02:52but they should learn from what Mr. Khan does,

02:54at least in his movies.

02:55And then it should hardly be surprising to any of us

02:58that, you know, we lap up this romantic feast

03:01of selflessness, right,

03:02that Mr. Khan's characters provide on screen.

03:12He's not a feminist icon, but he's a female icon.

03:15And the difference there is that women are drawn

03:18to the fact that even though he played these characters

03:22in the early part of his iconography,

03:24and I think we should be very conscious of that,

03:26I think, you know, there was definitely a shift

03:29in the latter part of his films.

03:31And in fact, off late, he's been doing films

03:33where women play such a central role, right?

03:36Be it a zero, be it Dear Zindagi, there are so many,

03:39or Chak De India for that matter.

03:41I think there was a big shift.

03:43I think women see him as a female icon for multiple reasons.

03:47One is, as I said, he speaks to women,

03:50he listens to women in the films.

03:52There's an acknowledging of female feelings.

03:55I think women really appreciated that.

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