Relax,Aamir and Shah Rukh

So Aamir Khan thinks that Shah Rukh Khan is bitter because some of his recent films have not done well at the box office. SRK has already said that Aamir’s dog comment (the Ghajini actor announced on his blog that he has a dog called Shah Rukh) didn’t go down well with his kids,Aryan and Suhana. In an interview,SRK said,“When I meet him (Aamir) I’ll tell him those are two fans he has lost for sure.”

Phew.

Don’t you just love all this back talk between the two biggest superbrands of Indian cinema? I mean,you would think they can just

call each other up and sort it out once and for all. It’s quite entertaining but whatever happened to the sanctity of personal relationships? These days everything is routed through the media. Stars make up and break up in print,they dole out intimate details about their wedding and even publicly air grievances with colleagues. If Salman calls SRK “matlabi”,then Akshay says,“I’ll never Knight (read Kolkata Knight Riders) all those who are circulating negative stories about me,but rather hire them for Friday night entertainment.”

Considering the quotable quotes some of the stars give these days,it’s like watching an unfolding soap opera. If you want to know how Shah Rukh reacts to Aamir’s statements,tune in to XYZ channel or read XYZ tabloid. And then they say the media is intrusive? Guys,you are the ones doling out the statements!!

Though their public display of open hostility makes my life as a film reporter easy,I can’t help but wonder why everyone in Bollywood is being so touchy? You don’t have Will Smith proclaiming in Hollywood that he’s the King of the Box Office or that Tom Cruise has become bitter? They do take potshots at each other,but they do it with more class and bonhomie… For that matter,I do agree with Aamir that legends like Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan have never proclaimed that they are No. 1!

And what is this No. 1 business anyway? Who decides who is No. 1? You are as good as your last release. Till Chandni Chowk To China came crashing down,Akshay was the Hit Machine. Now after Ghajini,it’s Aamir who is the most powerful man in Bollywood. These equations change every Friday. Best thing for stars to do is to not believe their own hype. Take for instance this little moment that took place at a recent award show where newbie stars Imran Khan and Ranbir Kapoor made a dig on Hurman Baweja: “We thought he was supposed to be the future of the industry!” That Hurman’s ex-girlfriend Priyanka Chopra was caught guffawing on this bad joke made for great television,but bad image exercise for Priyanka. Who knows,maybe next year Hurman will be having the last laugh? And who knows where Ranbir and Imran will be then?

It’s great to take your work seriously but when you start taking yourself seriously,then the fun goes,the cracks start appearing,the insecurities come to the fore and we stop liking our revered stars a teeny bit.

So guys,relax and enjoy your stardom till it lasts. Take a chill pill and keep the bitterness and insecurities away. All this back talk is pointless anyway. After all,remember even the great Dilip Kumar is leading a reclusive life in Pali Hill with only wife Saira Banu for company. And nobody even knows where Rajesh Khanna is!