Aryan's arrest hits SRK's USP — champion of family values

When he was trying to convince Shah Rukh Khan to act in his debut film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Aditya Chopra told the actor that he was indeed a star, but he could never be a superstar unless he became every girl's fantasy lover, every sister's brother, and every mother's son. Till then, after the success of Baazigar (1993) and Darr, he was merely "the autorickshaw driver's hero".Indeed, the 1995 film made him a superstar, a middle-class hero, and the darling of Non-Resident Indians with his Hindustani emotions and English money. It is the template of the romantic partner and dutiful son, crafted by Chopra and his protégé Karan Johar, that has served Shah Rukh well for almost 30 years. It has also become a trap. It is the lens the world has seen him through and though he may be cleverly trying to send it up in a new series of ads for Disney+Hotstar, it will remain his gilded cage. medium86783673Unlike his fellow Khan superstars, Aamir and Salman, who have achieved success on different terms — the former primarily as an actor playing a character and the latter as an action star — Shah Rukh has always been seen as a middle-class hero. The house may be big, the parties lavish, and the friends high profile, but Shah Rukh has always reiterated his humble origins, his education, and his work ethic. He has also always celebrated his children, doubtless because he misses his own parents, neither of whom saw the massive success he has become.Brand Shah Rukh is also a lot about being Mufasa, the king of the jungle. So naturally, his Simba has always been in the public eye — ironically its 2020 screen version’s father-son pair was voiced by Shah Rukh and his son Aryan.And much before Taimur Ali Khan became the darling of the paparazzi, there was Aryan Khan who went everywhere with his father, who usually carried him in his arms, to studio floors, dance parties, and even to interviews. The good son/husband had clearly evolved into a good father, at least in the public domain.And with Aryan Khan being sent off to Sevenoaks, one of England's toniest public schools, and then going on to study film at the University of South California, the next stop in the star child's life, a star launch, seemed imminent. But the death of rising star Sushant Singh Rajput and the country's changed political climate has changed everything. medium86784996Star children no longer have the gloss once associated with them. DNA is no longer seen as a substitute for diligence, and Shah Rukh himself is no longer invincible at the box office, with commercial underperformers such as Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017) and Zero (2018). His business empire is much beyond his own movies now, but he remains one of the country's biggest superstars whose box office revenue matters.So does Aryan Khan's arrest by the Narcotics Control Bureau affect his father’s brand value? Of course it does, given that he usually plays a version of himself in the ads, either underlining the power of education or success. But that value has already been in decline, with the ascent of a new generation of actors and stars. medium86783914Social media is a feral beast. As Amitabh Bachchan once told Ram Gopal Varma, once you invite fans to your living room, they have no hesitation in taking over your bathroom. One minute, social media can go ga-ga over Aryan Khan looking and behaving exactly like his father at the auction of Indian Premier League players, another minute, it can use YouTube to dig up evidence to question Shah Rukh's easy-going attitude to parenting. Added to it are photos celebrating other star children, either being dutifully affectionate to their parents or participating in Hindu rituals, to show the “right” family values. medium nocaption86783908No matter that drug abuse is no longer limited to upmarket families with unlimited pocket money. No matter that every family has some scandal it has papered over or forgotten. No matter that parenting in the 21st century often demands abilities that the analog generation simply hasn't developed. When we see a famous father struggling with the infamous deeds of his progeny, as in the case of Sunil and Sanjay Dutt, the first and lasting reaction is — 'there but for the grace of God go I'.Untitled Carousel 86136349