Shah Rukh Khan: Journey from Charisma to Celebrity
Published In
Stardom in Contemporary Hindi Cinema: Celebrity and Fame in Globalized Times
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2020
Subjects
Celebrity -- Globalization -- India, Hindi films -- Globalization
Abstract
This essay studies the particular brand of Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) as he achieves superstardom in the Hindi film industry and as a thought leader, earn ing him the moniker Badshah (king). By transcending ossifying gender roles and ethnic-religious divisions might SRK be the quintessential Indian man who stands for the nation (Cayla in Advertising Soc Rev 9(2), 2008)? Or is he a modern metro sexual whose identity is hybrid? This accounts for the dialectical tension that arises from the ‘celebrity’ of SRK as global businesses boldly recruit cinephile audiences as consumer-patriots of neoliberal India transforming dated identities of citizen-patriots in postcolonial India. What follows then is the provocation that the study of celebrity is a very particular cultural formation that Graeme Turner believes, “is a productive location for the analysis of cultural shifts around gender, race or nationality” (Celebr Stud 1(1), p.13, 2010). Lastly, the essay explores how SRK recoups his image as a charismatic actor and leader, not just as a brand ambassador of multinational com modities. Through ethnographic insight I propose that in SRK-defined films such as My Name is Khan global Muslim audiences find a way to talk about and understand their own experience of being Muslim during the Global War on Terror.
Rights
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42650
Citation Details
Viswamohan, A. I., & Wilkinson-Weber, C. M. (Clare M. (Eds.). (2020). Stardom in contemporary Hindi cinema : celebrity and fame in globalized times. Springer.