Kaun Hai The Baadshah of Hearts?

Just read Kapil's and pooR_Planner's posts on KBC3.

And since I found myself in front of the TV almost a full hour before the show started, just thought I would pen down why I like Shahrukh so much(mostly- I hated him in KANK and some other movies)...

The last time I took some time to think about SRK-fandom was in Bandhavgarh in the company of Shyam Babu(Benegal) with a group of travellers on a special 3 day boutique package arranged by my friend Ram.

We had debated the immense popularity of SRK, whom the intelligentsia loves to hate!

Now SRK if you realise is a perfect blend of grey/ crossover. Perfect for the times that we have been living...

SRK is a blend/ rich brew of
The man on the street meets the King

Indian Diffidence meets Rising India (Long before India Shining happened)

Talent meets Jugaad

Hero meets Villain Darr

NRI aspirations meets Rural India Swadesh

Bollywood meets Cool (Remember, how cool was earlier reserved for Hollywood actors alone). Of course, the general aesthetic contours of Bollywood have changed. And guys like Manish Malhotra have an equal role in it.

Dil Maange More meets Wahi hoga jo bhagya mein likha hai(Most of his love plots, including Chupke Chupke)

Flaunt meets Family Value The man & his family life

Honest Muslim meets Hindu Wife

Love meets Arranged Marriage DDLJ

Romance meets Commerce His marriage, Mannat, His paid-for-dances at weddings

Somewhere, when I was younger, I liked this grey shade honesty in SRK. The intelligence and his voluntary playing to the gallery for money! And then his blatant honesty in admitting it.

I love him because he is himself. Most times. Long before India Poised happened, SRK had the cheeky confidence that I thought only Pakistani fast bowlers seemed to have in the sub-continent.

I like him because he is a family man and loves his kids.

I like him because he doesn't time his cause marketing efforts with the release of his films. I have a feeling one other Khan does that.

I like him because he is gizmo-saavy. He is the new-age face of an archaic but immensely powerful industry called Bollywood.

I love him because he(along with Karan) knows the value of creating and perfecting an image. Look at the way he has re-invented his look from Deewana to Don. (Actually all of them have - Aamir, Salman...)

I like him because with so little acting talent, he can get a Nation's love and adulation.

Okay, back to KBC. I wasn't disappointed. Loved him, music video, humour, ada/ idiocy and all.

I think he was true to himself! All style, little originality but no pretence as well.

In the age where celebs are part of the larger community, the hug makes him more accessible(its actually using the Munnabhai jhappi!). I was myself appalled at the hug idea at first, but on TV it wasn't that bad.

KBC is a borrowed and heavily templated concept, little room for deviation. In an atmosphere where the critics, AB fans are all out to take his ass, poor guy better stick to the AB benchmark.

AB is a legend, SRK is the reigning King of Bollywood and that should be left at that...:-)

Like AB, SRK is a meta brand. He needn't do much now to enjoy that status.

As as I was about to end the post, my mother called me.(To remind me that it's Saraswati puja today)So, I asked her if she liked KBC3? She said she loved it. More than KBC 2. Because Shahrukh "khoob hasaya"(made me laugh). I agree. I laughed. Are those the jokes which a savvier, more intelligent audience would laugh at. Never. But KBC is to a different SEC. The SEC of mainstream India!

Which other star would have the balls to say on National TV that "Log kehte hain, main sirf style hoon, mujhe acting nahin aati hai. Sahi hai". (I am all style, no acting prowess) and that "Aap jo chahein main woh colour ka coat pehenooga, agar boley to petticoat bhi pehenooga"(I will wear any colour coat that you want me to. If you insist I will even wear a petticoat"

You can love him, or loathe him. But you won't be able to ignore 'The Baadshah' and he will drive the TRPs up for sure...Now Shahrukh don't let me down:-)

Two Indias Among The Many

I love the new Times Of India campaign - India Poised. Gulzar's lyrics and the English version penned by Aggie, both are very good. Check out the videos on Indiapoised.com

There is no one way to describe the current growth/ phase of India. It's an interesting mish-mash of Elephant and Tiger paradigms...And therefore the two India route makes a lot of sense(and has been handled with a degree of sensibility)!

Definitely one campaign, I wish I had done.

Though, Amitabh in his nth commercial is straining the boundaries of celebrity endorsement. But he is a Meta Brand and can do no wrong:-) Gulzar saheb as always is awesome...

The Future of Bollywood

That's a pretty grandiose post title...But have been wondering about it for some time. And my Q list grows longer...

What is the yield point of Amitabh Bachchan as a celeb endorser?

Is Karan Johar the new meta brand?

What's the genetic difference between pop-celebrity brands and big Bollywood stars?

How much of Bollywood is enough? Will it ever be enough?

How will the spheres of Bollywood and Hollywood interact in the near future?

At TBWA,had been part of a scenario planning workshop conducted by Gavin Heron, the Shanghai office head! The one in Bombay was centred around Bollywood. I remember we had asked interesting questions...In fact our group had come up with this interesting concept - hotfactory.com, a possible world where hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia and Ramgopal Verma met...

More questions...
Why is Bollywood experimentative?...Is this largely because the industry is/ was so unorganised with pots of hawala money and D Company funding...Therefore, with greater corporatisation, will Bollywood lose its edge, it's risk appetite...

Will Bollywood need account planners? What will the job title/ the role be? Are there existing jobs that we don't know? Can we create some - any ideas?

Will Percept Picturescope be the company to watch for?

Should one send his/ her CV to Dharma productions, e-mail SRK:-)

Will Farhan Akhtar/ Aditya Chopra continue to invent 'cool' and agencies continue to research them with awe, admiration and with time lag?

With the democratisation of creativity and technology will Bollywood still be controlled by a few Khans and Chopras?

Will the centre of Indian entertainment and content universe be still Bollywood in 10 years time?

I have been trying to put these Qs and few possible As together in a longer article...But till now there are more Qs than As...Hmmm:-(