The actor has been busy working on several big-budget dramas due for release over the coming 12 months: Raees (Rich); Fan; and the eagerly awaited Dilwale, in which the 49-year-old superstar will be reunited on-screen with actress Kajol, five years after their last film together.
Expected to be three of the biggest Bollywood films in the coming year, we take a look at their plots, controversies and box-office potential.
Dilwale Release Date: December 18
First up is Dilwale, an action comedy directed by Rohit Shetty (2013's Chennai Express, Happy New Year!) – so expect wholesome family entertainment. Fans are eagerly waiting to find out whether SRK and Kajol still have the sizzling chemistry they displayed in the 1995 blockbuster Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ), which has cunningly inspired the title of this film. The two stars were last seen starring together in Karan Johar's My Name Is Khan in 2010.
SRK and Kajol, 41, recently returned to Mumbai after filming in Bulgaria, and in behind-the-scenes photographs posted on Twitter, they look barely older than when they starred in DDLJ.
SRK also tweeted a pencil sketch of Shetty along with the words: “Another schedule wrap … another dream being weaved … another hope being built, 2 entertain as only he can. Rohit.”
But a box-office battle is on the cards. Dilwale will be released on December 17, the same day as Deepika Padukone's Baajirao Mastani, directed Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Rumour has it that SRK was unhappy when Padukone, in an apparent reference to the release-date clash, tweeted "Challenge accepted", indicating that she is up for a fight and, more importantly, that Bhansali won't be cowed into changing his film's release. SRK helped launch Padukone's career in 2009 with a starring role opposite him in the reincarnation drama Om Shanti Om.
Triva alert: Kajol's husband, Ajay Devgn, who was spotted in Bulgaria at the same time as the Dilwale crew were filming there, has denied rumours that he has a cameo in the film.
Fan Release date: April 15
Although over-obsessive followers can sometimes cause serious problems for celebrities, insiders say Fan is a more humorous look at the relationship between actors and their hardcore fans.
The film’s opening sequence is said to show Shah Rukh Khan, playing himself, celebrating his birthday at his Mumbai villa, watched by hundreds of screaming devotees. In the crowd, gazing at him with wide-eyed adoration, is his biggest fan – who is also his doppelganger.
The buzz and hype around the film has started in earnest, and it’s becoming hard to distinguish promotional events from real incidents.
For example, the words “SRK, See you on 15th. Gaurav” were found spray-painted on the perimeter wall of Khan’s villa in Mumbai recently. No one knew how it was done, given that the mansion is patrolled by security guards round the clock. As people speculated about the mysterious “vandalism”, it was revealed to be a clever marketing ploy to spread word about the film’s release date in India. Gaurav is the name of the fan SRK plays in the film. Meanwhile, the newly released poster for the film shows a man – ostensibly Khan – holding aloft a trophy with the words: “Coming soon, the biggest superstar’s biggest fan”. This theme is echoed in a contest to find 100 of SRK’s real-life biggest fans. The winners will have their Facebook profile images featured in the film’s collage-style movie- title image.
Triva alert: Director Maneesh Sharma called on Academy Award-winning make-up artist Greg Cannom (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) to work on Khan's look in the film.
Raees Release date: Eid 2016
Set in Gujarat, Raees is a critique of alcohol prohibition, the drugs trade and prostitution. SRK plays a dangerous bootlegger – the poster shows a bearded Khan sitting menacingly in front of smuggled crates of alcohol – whose moneymaking plans are threatened by a dogged policeman, played by actor extraordinaire Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who put on 20 kilograms for the role.
Stars have to be wary when dealing with Siddiqui, who has a knack for being a scene-stealer – even in a small cameo, as recently happened in the Salman Khan blockbuster Bajrangi Baijaan.
The drama, which marks the Bollywood debut of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, has run into several delays: filming was hampered by Khan’s recent surgery, while incessant rain wrecked some of the sets.
artslife@thenational.ae
