Yes, Shahrukh Khan can act. The Bollywood actor has proved this with Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades, which was received with mixed responses at the box office. There are two schools of thoughts; one found it intellectually stimulating, while others said that its less appealing.

Quite often he has been criticised for being obsessed with himself and playing himself on the screen rather the character. But in Swades he has proved the statement wrong. The film doesn't show a single trace of Bollywood Badshah's iconic attitude.

So far he has only portrayed the larger-than-life roles in films like Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhie Khusi Kabhie Gham and Devdas. In fact its not Shahrukh's fault entirely. He was roped in by the Chopras and Johars to act in their well-packaged love-sagas time and again as a result he

never got an opportunity to show his acting abilities.

Recently Bollywood's 'realistic' filmmaker, Ramgopal Varma, criticised Shahrukh and said, "What is Shahrukh Khan? Nothing, without the right packaging. Shahrukh Khan comes with a package, the best musicians, the best clothes, the perfect look - he is really smart to get all that just right. If all these things are not correct, I don't think people will like Shahrukh as much. So I avoid stars, who cost a huge amount of money, and pool all my resources in the idea."

His critics like Varma must watch the actor in Swades where he is devoid of glitz, glamour and starry attitude. He slips into the character of Mohan Bhargav, a guy-next-door, with ease and carries off the role of an NRI with élan and perfection. From his mannerisms to his clothes - the perfection is reflected everywhere. He played the part extremely well, from his ability to portray an intelligent and sophisticated project manager in NASA, to an NRI showing no signs of discomfort while trying to adjust in a remote village in India called Charanpur.

Varma claims that if the idea is right, then people come to see that. That's all that works. If that's the case then the audience will go to watch Swades - both for Shahrukh and the idea. However, Ashutosh Gowariker's noble intentions might not prove to be a great idea for the box-office but the film has proved that Shahrukh is no less than Aamir Khan in etching out the real life characters on screen.

The year 2004 is very significant for Shahrukh as it re-established his iconic status, thanks to hits like Main Hoon Na and Veer-Zara. The acceptance of his role in both the films, though they dealt with two different aspects of life, substantiated the fact that there is no one like Shahrukh Khan.

He is the most keenly watched current superstar of Indian cinema. As Karan Johar rightly describes him: Shahrukh is far too intelligent and when he says something like I'm the best" or "I'll always be a superstar", he means it and knows what he is doing. Hence one shouldn't underestimate his potential as an actor.

Even at 40, he is still too full of energy and thriving for better roles.

Arpana