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Spoilers Ahead by Rajeev Masand: Secrets of true superstars
As Shah Rukh Khan and Tom Cruise prove, a big part of being a movie celeb today is about public conduct
You had to have been there at Mumbai’s Bandra Bandstand promenade on Eid to fully appreciate why neither recent flops, nor controversies, not even a four-year hiatus from the screen, appears to have dented the enduring appeal of Shah Rukh Khan.
From my vantage point on the first floor of a building separated only by a lane from Mannat, it wasn’t hard to gauge the source of the deafening commotion below. Fans had clogged both sides of the road directly outside his sea-facing bungalow, causing a traffic jam that didn’t clear until a good half hour after the 56-year-old actor had made his customary appearance atop his terrace. Waving, doing his trademark arms-wide-open pose, flipping his phone camera to take selfies against the sea of fans gathered below, SRK dialled up the charm, demonstrating, for the umpteenth occasion, what makes a true-blue superstar.
It was fitting that only a day later, although far away in California, another superstar demonstrated his own unfailing connect with fans. Tom Cruise arrived for the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in a helicopter that he piloted himself, landing on a flight deck at a naval air base in San Diego amidst loud and enthusiastic cheers. News reports point out that Cruise continued to work the red carpet for a full three hours, even as his co-actors retired indoors to attend a champagne reception.
Oh, so special
Having met, on more than one occasion, with both SRK and Cruise, it’s easy to see why they’re the biggest movie stars in the world. Both men have a rare gift for making people feel special. Shah Rukh might turn up hours late for your appointment with him (he invariably does), but for the duration of your time together, he makes you feel like you’re the most important person in his orbit. I kid you not. Attentive, funny, charming, it’s impossible not to succumb to SRK’s magnetism.
Cruise, who I twice chatted with briefly on red carpets (in Seoul and Mumbai) before finally sitting down with him in Paris for a comparatively substantial chat in 2018, remarked graciously that it was good to see me again. He said it with such earnestness that, for a fleeting moment and despite knowing better, I considered the possibility that he might actually remember me! He enquired about the meaning of my tattoo in the brief seconds before the cameras were rolling, and sportingly took it on the chin when I complained that he’d twice set portions of his films in India but had never in fact shot here.
The following day when I recorded sound bites with him on the red carpet, he picked up from our interview, promising that he was going to film in India—as soon aswe could get him permits to fly choppers into the streets.
Viewers prefer gentlemen
A big part of being a movie star is about public conduct. About likeability. The odd couch-jumping incident on Oprah or the stray fracas at a cricket stadium aside, Cruise and Shah Rukh have presented themselves as consummate gentlemen. Both have (with some help from PR experts and image consultants, no doubt) painstakingly and consistently cultivated the image of being unflappable, reliable superstars. Their films might occasionally fail, but they don’t.
Much of the reason that both actors are so widely loved can be attributed to the fact that they’re true film lovers who’ve made considerable efforts to raise the cinematic experience for fans by routinely delivering spectacle, and by investing in cutting-edge technology.
Cruise, who will turn 60 in July, has been making movies for 40 years. Despite occasional missteps like 2017’s The Mummy, he’s still regarded as Hollywood’s most bankable leading man; wielding more clout than the studio chiefs who greenlight his pictures.
Shah Rukh, himself making movies for over 30 years, is hard to keep down even on the back of box-office failures. One shirtless still from the set of Pathaan a few weeks ago was enough to send fans into a collective tizzy; the mere announcement of a new film with Rajkumar Hirani excited even his critics.
I think it’s safe to say that Tom Cruise and Shah Rukh Khan are that rare breed of actor-superstars who’ll still be around—charming, reinventing, inspiring—even as new generations of actors struggle to duplicate and replicate their impact on popular culture.
Formerly a film journalist, Rajeev Masand currently heads a talent management agency in Mumbai
Spoilers Ahead is a new fortnightly column for, by and of lovers of films and film stars. Catch the next column on May 28, 2022.
From HT Brunch, May 14, 2022
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