The minister was miffed with the Badshah of Bollywood, when the actor snubbed his request to curb smoking in public, saying that actors were entitled to such “creative liberty.”
The minister got back at his bete noire recently when he compared Shah Rukh with Aamir Khan saying that the former should take a leaf out of the book of people like Aamir Khan on how to use the artistic tool to improve society. The obvious reference point was Aamir’s super hit film, Taare Zameen Par which has helped the cause of dyslexic children.
It would be unfair to Shah Rukh if his work is labelled as irresponsible, just as it would amount to being extremely biased to name all of Aamir’s films as socially responsible. CT speaks to some industry watchers to find out the truth behind this argument.
If Aamir has to his credit a Taare… or even a Rang De Basanti , then Shah Rukh too has done Swades , we the people, and Chak de! India . These films had some very pronounced social messages for the youth. Sajid Khan, director of a recent entertainer Heyy Babyy , feels that there is no such thing as a socially relevant cinema. “Cinema is basically a good story told in an entertaining manner. If the story is correct and touches the audience in some manner, then it automatically becomes socially relevant. Aamir and Shah Rukh don’t do a film because it serves a social cause. Both of them try to do a good film, rest is taken care of,” says he.
Very often the perception is that Aamir is more studied in his approach towards cinema. Shah Rukh on the other hand, is perceived to be more spontaneous. If Aamir does what is right, it so happens that what Shah Rukh does becomes right. Girija Oak, the actress who played Aamir’s friend in Taare…, feels that Aamir strikes a perfect balance between the entertainment value of a film and the social message that is riding on it. “Shah Rukh Khan’s films are almost always larger-than-life and out-and-out entertainers. It would always be difficult for him to do films like Swades… and Chak De!… The fact that he has done these films and they have been big hits, is a huge achievement.”
But on the other hand, Renuka Shahane keeps us thinking on whether cinema is the only medium through which an actor can project his sense of social responsibility. The actor has known SRK since his television days when the two worked together in the serial, Circus. Saying that King Khan has become more socially responsible since the time he became a parent, she adds, “He has served the social cause in his own way. He is a great role model, because he is not only a good actor but also a good father and a faithful husband. Just because he is an actor, does not mean that he is the custodian of social responsibilities. The social relevance of his films is evident from the fact that they are such huge hits.”
The arguments for and against the two Khans can go on, yet there is little doubt that there is a certain level of responsibility required from these big stars, which they can use to promote a social cause.
Actor Gracy Singh, who was Aamir’s co-star in Lagaan , says, “Aamir is an actor with a purpose, he thinks about the masses and what strikes a right chord with them. That is the reason that his films almost always carry a social message, and at the same time are very entertaining too. In this sense, he is way ahead of others.”
Shah Rukh Khan's Place 