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Shah Rukh Khan reminded the world that he remains the country’s biggest star, when he bounced back after years of setbacks and delivered the biggest hit of his career, Pathaan. But films are only a small reason for his popularity; his fans also adore his personality, and what he stands for. And among various other things, Shah Rukh has always embodied the religious harmony that India stands for.
In 2004, the BBC documentary The Inner World of Shah Rukh Khan provided uncommon insight into his personal life, featuring his wife Gauri, sister Shenaz, and children Aryan and Suhana. AbRam wasn’t born then. The documentary also spent a lot of time with Shah Rukh and the family inside their Mumbai home, Mannat, which wasn’t quite the multi-storey mansion that it is now. In one scene, Shah Rukh spoke about instilling religious unity in his children, and spoke about his own relationship with god.
Ahead of Diwali celebrations, the documentary shows Shah Rukh and his family participating in a ‘puja’ at home. Shah Rukh tells the ‘pandit’ that Aryan is in fact an expert at the Gayatri Mantra. But in addition to having idols of Hindu gods, the prayer area in Shah Rukh’s house also has the Quran. “Children should know about value of God, whether it’s a Hindu god or a Muslim god,” he said in the documentary. “So, next to Ganesh and Laxmi, we have the Quran also. We put our hands together and say the Gayatri Mantra, which my son says, and I say ‘bismillah’ with him. It makes me feel very emotional, where I’m teaching my children something that I also don’t know very well. I’m not a great follower of religion. I believe in Allah very strongly, but I was never forced by my parents to read the namaz five times a day.” Over shots of his family praying together, in accordance with both Hindu and Muslim traditions, he added, “To me, it’s very important to have a Diwali in the house, Eid in the house. We even do Christmas, we put up the tree. The kids enjoy that the most, really.”
In an earlier interview, Shah Rukh had spoken about giving his children names that could pass for both Hindu and Muslim. “I gave my son and daughter names that could pass for generic (pan-Indian and pan-religious) ones: Aryan and Suhana. The Khan has been bequeathed by me so they can’t really escape it. I pronounce it from my epiglottis when asked by Muslims and throw the Aryan as evidence of their race when non-Muslims enquire,” he said at an Outlook event in 2013.
In an appearance on the reality show Dance Plus, Shah Rukh had spoken about raising his children in a harmonious atmosphere, and also recalled an anecdote about Suhana asking him what religion they follow. Shah Rukh said, “Hum mein koi Hindu-Musalman ki baat hi nahi ki. Meri biwi jo hai Hindu hai, main Musalman hoon. Aur mere jo bacche hain, woh Hindustan hain. Genuine baat hai yeh (There is no such thing as Hindu-Muslim between us. My wife is Hindu and I am Muslim, my kids are Indian. It’s a genuine thing). Kai baar… jab woh school gaye toh school me wo bharna padhta hai ki religion kya hai. To jab meri beti chhoti thi, usne aa ke puchha bhi mujhse ek baar ki, ‘Papa, hum kaun se religion ke hain?’ Toh maine usme ye likha ki hum Indian hi hain yaar, koi religion nahi hai. Aur hona bhi nahi chahiye (When they went to school, we had to fill in the religion section. My daughter asked me once, ‘Papa, what is our religion?’ and I wrote we are Indian, we have no religion and shouldn’t have one either).”
Shah Rukh will return to the big screens this week with Jawan. The action-thriller is expected to deliver a career-best opening — and maybe even the biggest Bollywood opening of all time — for the star.
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