Journalist-turned-author Samar Khan has just launched his book on Shah Rukh Khan titled, SRK 25 Years Of A Life. The book traces the journey of the superstar through all his directors’ eyes. As Samar says, “The thought behind the book was to show why his directors thought of such iconic characters for Shah Rukh.”
Not surprisingly, the foreword has been penned by the superstar himself. Excerpts:
“After all these years, sometimes I’m not sure whether I gave form and shape to the characters I played or whether they unwittingly give me more facets than there ever had existed.
Whether it was a Rahul, Raj, Mohan or Aryan; each of them took a piece of me and departed, leaving behind a little of themselves. Call it destiny or sheer fluke; they were characters that others didn’t take up and that eventually found their way to me.
They chose me, and as I walked in their shoes and traversed their paths, these characters gave my life a direction that I wasn’t in complete control of. Now, too, these characters continue to propel me forward with a force so surreal that I can hardly believe this is anything but a fantastic dream.
To have completed 25 years in this industry is a big dream for a boy who came from Delhi 29 years ago; a dream that worked only because directors dreamt it with me with an undying passion. It takes uncompromising masters to make a dream come alive. And each time a character I have played has worked his charm into the pages of cinematic history. It has never been just me breathing life into them, but also great storytellers fuelling them with an intensity that has stood the test of time. The directors who thought me worthy enough to breathe life into the character they wrote and imagined.
What piqued my interest about this effort especially was that it wasn’t me giving an interview about my own life; it was the revisiting of my story through the lens of my directors.
On a warm summer’s afternoon, this book is a spirited reminder of the blessings I have received in the form of these fascinating characters. If you read closely, they tell a great deal of my own life as Shah Rukh Khan.”
