Open Letter to Shah Rukh Khan: Celebrating your lovely SECULAR spirit!

By Faridoon Shahryar -

November 2, 2017 - 10:20 AM IST

Dear Mr Khan

Open Letter to Shah Rukh Khan: Celebrating your lovely SECULAR spirit!

The festival of your birthday is peaking at this hour with #HappyBirthdaySRK trending all across the world. Your worldwide fans are heading towards Mannat as I am writing this. They were stationed there last night as well even though you were in Alibaug. Your existence brings a lot of happiness to millions of people. Your smile lights up the lamps of hearts. If you're despondent or tense (especially during KKR cricket matches), there is a chain-prayers-trail hoping that you'd stop nervously ruffling your hair and erupt in joy with a glorious cartwheel. It's that sort of a day when millions of retweets will echo the unimaginable popularity of a star who's truly global.

A lot is written about how your movies ought to be far bigger hits than what they already are. History has shown that there have been many movies that have done exceptional business at the box office but no one even remembers their name today. On the other hand there have been many films that have not been box office bonanzas but they are immortal. Your own film Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa for example will continue to live on. And so will Dear Zindagi, My Name Is Khan, Raees, Fan and Chak De India.

I am sure you're missing Kundan Shah sahab a lot. The lines from the song 'Vo To Hai Albela' ‘...Bansi ko lakdi sada samjha kiye tum, par uske naghmon ki dhun kahan sun sake tum…’ so aptly define what Shah Rukh Khan is all about. There are genuine critics and then there are people who have vested interests in bringing down a superstar because of his surname. No matter what the situation or how unjustified the 'criticism' is you just smile and shell out the famous couplet, 'Girte hain shehsavaar hi maidaan-e-jung mein, voh tifl kya girenge jo ghutnon ke bal chale'. Your unshakable confidence in yourself is your most prized facet and it continues to inspire your fans and people who treasure your presence in their lives.

I must tell you that I am surrounded by Shah Rukh Khan fans in my family. Be it my 52 year old cousin who lives in Long Island, USA or my wife's first cousins (aged 22 and 24) who are willing to leave everything and travel to Mumbai for a two minute meeting with you. My wife (also a Scorpion like you) has never expressed a wish to meet any star in spite of her husband having access to many stars in the business (though she did want to meet Abhishek Bachchan after seeing his madly funny act in Happy New Year). She is a die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan and her respect for you stems from your undying devotion to your family. "This guy will do anything for his children and wife. They mean the world to him and the emotion is very genuine," she often says.

I have a lot of respect for you for your faith in the secular spirit of our great country. The world secular is being twisted to sick(ular) by some mean minded people and it's sad. The fact that you continue to stand up (even though you know you have to be very careful about what you say on the issues of national importance) for the composite spirit for which your father fought for is highly commendable. You're right when you say that the youth of India need to be enthused with the spirit of Oneness irrespective of what their religion, region, caste, colour or creed is. I guess that's the reason why such a vast multitude of youngsters are madly in love with you...they identify with the love-and-respect-for-all that you stand for.

Happy Birthday Mr Khan. It's an honour to know you.

Happiness always!

Best regards

Faridoon