No, we don't mean he actually is a South
Indian or hails from the Kanyakumari
angle, but many a times, relevantly in
some iconic Shah Rukh Khan films; we
have been testament to the immense
South Indian flavor gaining momentum.
Although Chennai Express, too does not have the actor essaying the role of a
South Indian, yet the immense connect
to the idli-dosa and the upma have
grabbed eyeballs.
With less than a month left for the
Chennai Express to unleash its mighty
force on the masses, we explore the
different South Indian connections that
networked few of Shah Rukh's
memorable flicks and how!
Dil Se:
Mani Ratnam's pioneering piece based on
the backdrop of the Hindu-Muslim feud,
Dil Se was known for the brilliant
spectacle of having B-town's Badshah
shake more than just his legs to a
Chhaiya Chhaiya atop a running train. But more so, it was the soulful and
extremely melodious voice of Lata
Mangeshkar that added more gravitas to
a film which hinged on a cumulative
South Indian backdrop. With Jiya Jaale
and debutante Preity Zinta's bubbly Keralite character adding verve to the
film, Dil Se attacked audiences with the
right blend of boldness and fervor.
Plus the additional scenic and artistic
frames of Kerala form a huge relevance
to the Jiya Jaale number, which also
carried the Malayalam flavor in its lyrics.
Om Shanti Om:
Trodding back to a film that revamped
the '80s gharana and was a brave
testament to the polka dots and the bell
bottoms at a time when contemporary
was considered classic, Om Shanti Om set
new benchmarks for films, portraying a certain period of the past.
Clearly full of a
dash of the glamour and the gliteratti,
SRK-Farah's coalition had Shah Rukh
donning the typical South Indian masala
avatar in one of the pro-active scenes. In
a scene to woo starlet Deepika Padukone, SRK pretends to be an actor
battling against all odds. Here the
obstacle being a toy tiger! Amidst a lot
of tarka and masti ka dhishoom
dhishoom, SRK, the newly evolved star
won his way to glory. Call this scene bad and our witty actor will scream back:
Yanna rascala, mind it! With his
disarming candour, we agree!
SRK's magnanimous piece of superhero
flick that was overloaded with new-age
techniques and advancements created a
niche for itself in the international arena.
With a Bollywood film going global
distances, SRK had been inventive of a futuristic genre that might captivate the
entire nation someday. Essentially unlike
Dil Se or Om Shanti Om, SRK's humane
character in the film, Shekhar
Subramaniam was a Tamilian by heart.
From having dollops of khatti dahi in everything he had, including the Chinese
noodles, SRK's depiction of a Tamilian
was pitch perfect. The mannerisms and
the maneuvers were a big thumbs up.
Not just that, the chartbuster of the year,
Chhammak Chhallo too carried some brilliant South Indian flavor piled on,
courtesy the delicious Hamsika Iyer
sharing centrestage with Akon!
Chennai Express:
A film that is typically not so SRK-ish but
too much of a Rohit Shetty trademark
ishtyle-ised flick, Chennai Express is
definitely SRK's first tryst with complete
South Indian ethnicity, to be precise.
From the backdrops to the dialect to the ambience, everything is oh-so-South
Indian. Plus the perfect dichotomy of
sorts between SRK and his beloved
Deepika stands as the major USP of this
action comedy. While Deepika sizzles in
her Tamilian accent playing Meena Lochini to the tee, SRK's lungi dance is
the one to watch out for.
The Munnar tea hills, the backdrops, the
Kathakali, The Elephants, the Pulikali and
the Kalaripayattu screenings in the
Kashmir tu main Kanyakumari song echo
the essence of the South Indian flavor
that we are about to gorge on. Not to forget Balasubramaniam's Tamilain tinge
to the title song, the interlude to the
rapchik 1234 Get on the Dance Floor song
and the obvious Tamil lines from the Titli
number that helps the film notch up a
few more levels. Deepika's Bharatnatyam is breathtaking and a
show stealer in the 2 minute video of
the lovely romantic number that was
unveiled a few weeks back.
All in all, with SRK all set to bring
romance and action onto our platters in
true entertaining methods, we are just
Falling in Love with CE, the Rohit Shetty
ishtyle!
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