Making Mamata blush: Why Shah Rukh Khan is the King of Romance
The West Bengal, which has seen the pre-Shah Rukh-icised Mamata Banerjee, knows what she used to be back then. Indeed, the West Bengal chief minister has always been famous for her austere lifestyle; simple, bordering on penitential, at times. Tant saree, chappals and no form of extravagance - simplicity incarnate, the one who has hardly ever betrayed any emotion apart from anger (okay, the occasional happiness, too) in public, is what Mamata Banerjee was.
But that was before the King of Romance entered her life. True, Shah Rukh Khan's bond with his Mamata Didi is a fragrant brother-sister tie, but that managed to do what nothing else seemed to have done to Mamata - gave birth to that rare thing called PDA in her. Once Mamata was adequately SRK-fied, one could spot the hugs and pecks every single time the two met. The fact that there were gazillion cameras to capture their moment of brotherly/sisterly-love was more than solid validation of the fact that SRK had managed to strike a rare chord in Didi.
When IPL reached the shores of Hooghly, with Shah Rukh as the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Mamata's glee was way less than concealed. She thanked him profusely for investing in the team and for visiting Kolkata. There opened the sluice gates of a relationship that no one had ever known Mamata to be capable of - brothering a film star; and not anyone else - but Shah Rukh. The one who never left a stone unturned in vocalising his love for the things or people he loved. In February 2012, Khan officialised his relation with West Bengal, and by extension, with Mamata. He accepted the latter's proposal of becoming the brand ambassador of the state.
That same year, after KKR won the IPL, Mamata and Shah Rukh ruled every celebration everywhere - whether physically present or not. King Khan's fans began showering Didi with love for doing the impossible - making Shah Rukh sing paeans to Sonar Bangla and recite Rabindranath Tagore. No, that too, wasn't all. Shah Rukh even performed to the songs of Bhoomi (a Bangla band) and danced to "Dhitang Dhitang Bole…", and declared that if KKR won the next edition of the IPL (2013), Mamata would have to join SRK in dancing for the commoners. Didi, however, said that she could sing for them, not dance. Pat came SRK's response, "Didi, Bengal maybe yours, but Eden is ours. Here, we rule." No, the response didn't manage to spark a fiery retort from Mamata, which might have been the case had it been anyone else on the microphone.
After that, Mamata sent the superstar a rakhi, staying true to her elder sister status. SRK showed his gratitude by sharing the photo of the rakhi online with his innumerable followers. Mamata then did something she is hardly known for: She wished the actor a "very happy birthday" on Facebook. "Today is Shah Rukh Khan's birthday. I spoke to him yesterday (Friday) and congratulated him. He is Bengal's Brand Ambassador and loves Bengal. We all wish him a very happy birthday and many many more years of success, prosperity and health," the Bengal CM posted.
On his part, Shah Rukh used many epithets to describe Mamata Didi. From calling her a "vortex of energy" to lauding her leadership skills, Khan never let an opportunity to praise Banerjee slip by. And in between, there was the much-famous SRK-Mamata's first kiss, too. Shah Rukh landed a peck on the CM's cheeks during one of his visits, and Mamata was left teetering, on the verge of breaking out in a full-blush mode, while trying to control her happiness. Well-conditioned-by-Didi's-no-emotion-display Bengali eyes could not believe what was unfolding in front of them. Shah Rukh had done what nobody had ever done before him - made Mamata blush!
In between, Shah Rukh, who himself boasts an enviable fandom, also said that he was a "big fan" of Mamata. "She is a firebrand leader; she takes a lot of initiative in doing things. That is her leadership style. In our country, for a lady, it is doubly difficult to be so outgoing," said Khan.
And then, Mamata did what an elder sister is expected to do in our country - faced flak, swallowed barbs - thanks to SRK's Jab Tak Hai Jaan dance with Sampa Haldar, a sub-inspector with the Kolkata Police.
From all political quarters, darts were aimed at Mamata for approving Shah Rukh and Sampa's "improper" dance. The CM did not, for once, say a word against Khan.
All of that, however, is in the past. But SRK and Mamata continue to share the bond that had been engendered when Khan decided to call her Didi, like everyone else in the state. Now, when the Happy New Year team landed in Kolkata to celebrate their victory, there was no way Banerjee would be left out. Once again, we the commoners were treated to rare displays of brother-sister affection from these two; stars in their own arenas. SRK also expressed his heartbreak at not being able to buy the Kolkata franchise of the Indian Super League. He said, fulfilling the role of the state's brand ambassador to the hilt, "I really very much wanted to be a part of ISL, and I wanted to own a football team, but there was no way that I would have got Kolkata. And if I can't have Kolkata, I can't have any other city."
Apart from articulating his heartbreak, Khan took to Twitter to profess his love for Mamata Didi, yet again. "In Kolkata, I always get so enthused about life when I meet MamataDi. Her energy and the fish I get to eat...(sic)," read a tweet from the 48-year-old actor.
In these troubled times, when Bengal - and Mamata - are fighting their best to redeem their reputation, what with the numerous recent blasts and other incidents of importance, it never harms to have a bit of the King of Romance speaking up for Mamata. So would agree my Bengali compatriots. And Didi, blush or no blush.