Inside Mannat, there’s SRK. Outside Mannat, his fans and a round-the-clock party

At any given point of time, a steady stream of fans await their turn to click a picture with the iconic ‘Mannat’ plaque. Across the street, another sea of fans click selfies, strike the ‘trademark SRK pose’, make vlogs, eat and make merry. That leaves the handful who simply sit and gaze at Mannat for hours, as if they have fallen into a trance, half making a mannat (wish) of their own — to catch a glimpse of their King Khan.

Even on a day when the star is not slated to make an appearance, the air is thick with excitement. “Uncle, aaj Shah Rukh aane wale hai kya? (Uncle, is SRK going to make an appearance today),” a little girl questions one of the security officials guarding Mannat. Her query echoes the question that hangs heavy in every heart that lands at Shah Rukh’s doorstep.

As they slow down while crossing Mannat, it seems even vehicles are not immune to the SRK frenzy. While there’s a dedicated BEST bus stop right outside the gates of Mannat, fleets of buses ferrying tourists make minute-long stops outside the actor’s gates. ‘Shah Rukh ka ghar’ is an essential chapter in the Mumbai Darshan experience.

Amid all the buzz and the crowds, around 4.30 pm on a busy weekday, a troupe of dancers start dancing to the tunes of Shah Rukh’s latest number, ‘Not Ramaiya Vastavaiya’ from Jawan. Soon after their performance, they head towards 24-year-old Ganesh Sharma, a vendor who has been selling samosas and chai outside Mannat for the past 4-5 years.

Sharma is one of the many men whose livelihoods depend on the legion of fans who flock Mannat everyday. His clientele includes not only the fans but also regulars like the security guards stationed outside Mannat. He says both the crowd and his business have witnessed a spike since the release of Jawan.

Sharma tells The Indian Express, “This group of dancers alone ordered 70 samosas. Because of Jawan, more people come here nowadays and I end up making Rs 2,000-3,000 each day. On Eid, when Shah Rukh makes an appearance, the crowd goes wild and has, at times, trampled my food. There have been occasions when people have stolen samosas too. Thieves also take advantage of the frenzy to steal fans’ phones and wallets.”

He added, “Before me, my father sold samosas at this spot. I am a big SRK fan but he is not just a beloved entertainer for me. Inki wajah se mera ghar aur business chalta hai (My household and business run because of him).”

Meanwhile, for men like Gulsan Jena, fandom is a serious affair. Jena is the founder and an admin at one of SRK’s biggest fan clubs on the Internet. The fan club, Team Shah Rukh Khan, has amassed over 4 million likes across various social media channels.

“When I discovered that I would get to meet Shah Rukh for the first time, I penned down all my thoughts thinking I would just read them out when I meet him. When I finally met him, I forgot everything. After all that preparation, I only said two things — ‘Thank you for everything’ and ‘I love you’,” Jena recounted. Since then, he has met his idol over a dozen times.

Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “As the founder of one of the world’s biggest SRK fan clubs, I used to think that I was his biggest fan. But that changed when I visited Mannat for the first time in 2015. There’s so much outpouring of love for SRK outside Mannat, with people screaming his name, expressing their love for him, etc., that I realised I may not be his biggest fan after all.”

And just like Jena said, each passing hour of every day brings a fresh set of fans to Shah Rukh’s doorstep, each group bigger than the last.

Following the release of Jawan, The Indian Express speaks to Shah Rukh’s fans about their love for him and what keeps bringing some of them back to Mannat again and again.