What is the difference between a superhero and a superstar? Both are idolized by millions and beloved by hordes of fans. Both make us believe in the unimaginable. So are they really that far apart? Bollywood badshaah Shahrukh Khan seems to think so, and he should know as a superstar playing a superhero in his upcoming film Ra.One.
“A superhero’s larger purpose is always very selfless and a superstar’s larger purpose is to stick to films,” SRK explained. “I’m not selfless. My highest purpose in life is to make a great film.” That’s quite a bit of honesty coming from an actor, who are often considered modern-day heroes.
Any mention of Ra.One get SRK talking about his pet project. His character in the film, G.One, is said to be made up of “solid electricity”. It seems the new technological era has lent itself well to a new kind of superhero. “In olden times, superheroes could come from planets because they were out of understanding. Now, the quantum part is more difficult to understand than the macro part of it.” Ra.One will take the superhero mythology in a new direction, hoping to separate itself from the plethora of popular comic book heroes. “We felt that if we took the modern, new creation [Internet] of man and say a superhero and super villain can be created out of it, that would be really unique.”
Praise for the film has already been pouring in, even though it is set to release on Diwali, which is months away yet. “The other day, somebody told me my car shot is like Krrish and GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra. It didn’t happen, so we did it digitally. If I had known we’ll go digital, I’d have done it even bigger.”
But being righteous and heroic isn’t the only thing on Shahrukh Khan’s plate. Releasing soon after Ra.One will be the Farhan Akhtar directorial sequel Don 2, which releases in December. “As an actor, it’s good fun – to be so evil and be so good. It’s very exciting. I have this cool look, long hair and beard in [Don 2].”
Whether good, bad, or somewhere in-between, we love to see Shahrukh Khan on the silver screen!
