Shah Rukh Khah: What Next?

While his massive fan-following remains intact—and  fiercely loyal– Shah Rukh Khan career needs serious realignment.

His last 5 films have been far from the shining tributes to his superstardom that they were expected to be. Yes, Raees scraped through, But barely and made far less money than it was expected to.And no, it wasn’t because Hrithik Roshan’s Kaabil came on the same day. Dilwale which came for Diwali 2016 would have flopped even if it had not come on the same Friday as Sanjat Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani .

Come  to think  of it Shah Rukh has delivered no blockbusters since Chennai Express and Happy New Year.

Gauri Shinde’s Dear Zindagi was never designed as a  mass entertainer. It did decent business.  But the big Yash Raj film Fan featuring Shah Rukh Khan as his own fan,sank without a trace.

Imtiaz Ali’s  Jab Harry Met Sejal HAD to be  avery  big success, if for no reason then to  prove that once a king always a king. However the film failed to even earn Rs 50 crores over its first weekend thereby qualifying as one of the lowest Shah Rukh Khan earners.

Trade analyst Atul Mohan  feels  it’s time for Shah Rukh to reinvent himself. “King Khan should now focus on content, which is King. He has an enviable fan base. If we look at his last few releases Raees was the best performance-wise but its collections got affected by 25-30% due to clash with Kaabil. He needs to re-discover himself. And not get carried away with big names directing a project. Just because it’s Imtiaz Ali  or Aanand Raiit doesn’t mean they are the right directors for Shah Rukh.He should check on what his fans and audience want from him. Looking at the boxoffice performance  of his  recent releases he should bounce back with an action film like the next instalment in  the Don series. His recent films under-performed because they were sold at higher price than they could make back. The film industry rides heavily on the three Khan superstars  and they can’t go wrong. One big one from King Khan and he’s back in the driver’s seat.”

Film critic Raja Sen, however, congratulates Shah Rukh Khan  for pushing the envelope and taking career risks. “It’s good to watch him try different films with different filmmakers. Sure, some may flounder but that doesn’t take away from the Shah Rukh sheen. He’s in the middle of a reinvention and we should wait and watch what he evolves into.”