Lataji  Was Very Fond Of Shah Rukh Khan

The  uproar over  Shah Rukh Khan  doing dua at  Lataji’s funeral  is so uncalled-for , so stupid  and  so crass it takes our collective  breath away. Firstly, each one has  the right to pay his respects  the way he wishes  to.

Who are  you to  question why Shah Rukh  did it the  Islamic way? Also, the last time I checked we were a democracy  which means everyone  is entitled to  his own selfexpression as  long as  it doesn’t hurt anyone’s sentiments.

Apparently sentiments  were  hurt  when  SRK  raised his hands in an Islamic gesture  of respect.

I think the matter  is between Shah Rukh and  God, I mean  Lataji. They were  extremely fond of one another. Once at one of her  live concerts SRK  had said, “I wish she  could sing for me.”

Lataji  had  responded to SRK’s reverent affection with huge  praise,  “Dilip Kumar Sahab, whom Shah Rukh is compared with, also expressed this humbling desire.Even I wish I could sing for Shah Rukh. His expressions are so correct in the songs.”

  Lataji had then  gone on  to praise the  actor’s work.  “Mujhe Shah Rukh ka kaam bahot pasand hai. Maine unki sari filmein dekhi hai(I really like Shah Rukh’s work. I’ve watched all his  films). I first saw  Shah Rukh in a serial called Fauji. There was something special about him. Then I saw him in a film called Chamatkar. Later   I saw Deewaana and Baazigar in which he played a negative character. It was quite evident that Shah Rukh could play any kind of role.”

      Lataji also enjoyed  Shah Rukh’s dancing.  “I remember him saying  somewhere that he had no sense of rhythm and dance. But when I saw him in that song Ruk ja o dil deewane  in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Ussmein itna sahi acting kiya tha unhone. Then I saw him dancing to Chaiyyan chaiyyan in Dil Se.His popularity  cuts across the religious  divide. No one  cares whether Dilip Saab and Shah Rukh are Muslim. There  reach is   far beyond religion.”

I  know  how pained Lataji would have been to hear the way her  death is  being attempted  to be politicized. She was beyond all politics, though attempts to pull her in were  constantly  made.