We’ve all heard of the phrase, ‘To blow your own trumpet.’ Thanks to internet, we realised that the phrase has a base in an ancient Greek story. There was a Greek warrior in old times, reclusive, unassuming but a great warrior indeed. During a war with the neighbouring kingdom, he fought the enemy with great valour and inspired his army to win the battle. When he came back to his village, the villagers welcomed him with a grand procession, which included blowing of the huge trumpet which was kept at the altar of the village temple in his honour. So the whole village could know there was a hero amongst them. But amongst the villagers was a man who felt envious of the glory the hero was basking in. The next day he decided before Sun dawn when the village wakes up, he’d go to the temple and blow the trumpet and before anyone could see him start walking and pretend that he too was returning from the war. The naive villagers wouldn’t have a clue, he assumed. As per his plan he woke up early the next day and rushed to the temple with great enthusiasm he began blowing the trumpet. To his horror, the same trumpet that had made the sounds of victory march the previous day, began sounding like a wailing child! He tried to play the trumpet again and again, but to no avail. Meanwhile the whole village was rudely waken up and gathered at the temple. It didn’t take them much time to realise what had happened and the villager became the laughing stock of the town. He left his village before dawn the next day for good. And since then a man blowing his own trumpet has never been music to anybody’s ears.
But we have made an exception for our ShahRukh Khan time and again. Yes, after all he has been one of us, and has inspired many a common man to rise above the ordinary. Just as he has, to reach the extraordinary heights of fame, success and power. Thus we have all overlooked his petulance ignored his, I’m The Best’ brags and arrogance over the years. The head that wears the crown should be equally at ease to bow with modesty. Like SRK’s predecessor superstar Amitabh Bachchan, who has remained humble throughout his career and thereby won respect and admiration from his peers, contemporaries, the younger generation of actors, and practically everyone outside the industry too. SRK though is a long way away from winning that vote of confidence, especially within the industry. Ofcourse, he’d have a coterie of friends who’d stand on their heads at his behest. But then there are actors who SRK won’t help (why would he?) or can’t destroy (nasty jibes at them is all he takes), who are standing up against him and on the last count the list is long enough and growing ever-so-fast.
SRK has never liked competition. He may have gone hoarse trying to tell the world that was not the case. So there was a war of words, manipulation of films, unruly maneuvers right from the onset of his career to unsettle the other heroes. Khans, Salman, and Aamir had to face it, so did Ajay Devgan and Sunny Deol. But they all lasted through the tears along with SRK, at times still giving him a run for his money. A generation younger, Hrithik Roshan wasn’t spared and neither was Abhishek Bachchan when they threatened his supremacy. But there is one man’s rise that’s particularly astonishing and hard to digest for SRK, because he was the junk food hero as King Khan had famously called him decades ago.Today Akshay Kumar is the creme brulle of Bollywood. From the action hero of the yore, to the romantic man, to displaying his comic abilities, Akshay has reinvented himself over the years and today blends all his talents superbly to serve up a delectable mix. And the results speak for themselves. In the last five years or so Akshay has given hits that any actor, including SRK can only dream of. From Andaz to Aeitraaz, from a family drama like Waqt to comedies like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and Garam Masala, the list is endless and Akshay has shone through in each of them. He has found his loyal fan following is a mega draw at the ticket windows and is a saviour for the producers, as a film with him is a sure shot winner. What’s more, unlike SRK, he hasn’t relied on the big banners to make his films work. His success is his own, and you appreciate it more because you never hear Akshay going to town drilling it into your head.
But Shah Rukh doesn’t share our appreciative sentiments. Whenever he had an opportunity, and if he didn’t he made one, took pot shots at Akki to slight him and his achievements. On films front too, he was going to leave no stone unturned to turn the tables on Akshay. When Don released on the same day as Akshay-Salman’s Jaan-e-Mann, SRK went out there with a publicity drive to kill any hype about Jaan-e-Mann. He believed he had it in him to take on two of his biggest rivals, in one go. Probably because he was concentrating too much on competition, he couldn’t focus on his Don act, which came a cropper compared to the Big B’s original, and SRK fell flat on his face. Jaan-e-Mann didn’t work wonders either, but Akshay had the buffer of several hits he was raking up around the same time and that left him unaffected.
Last Year was going to be crucial for both the actors. SRK was coming up with two big releases, Yashraj’s Chak De and his own home production Om Shanti Om. With the critical acclaim he won for Chak De and the film’s success, followed by OSO being the biggest grosser of all time should have finished off any competition he faced. SRK tried to dismiss Akki given his habit. But he was fretting when another threat, long time foe, Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par was almost hailed as a master piece by the critics. SRK has always harboured a complex when it comes to Aamir, according to industry watchers, because besides matching SRK’s popularity, Aamir commanded respect for his craft. And because of Aamir’s air of exclusivity he possessed an aura of invincibility. With Taare Zameen Par he had gone a step ahead taking over the director’s chair and touched a sensitive subject with great maturity and style. He’d also proved himself to be an actor who isn’t in the least bit insecure by letting young Darsheel Shetty steal the show. With Taare.... ‘coming close on the heels of OSO the spotlight had shifted from SRK’s outrageous act to Aamir’s intensity. Not to let the focus drift away from him, SRK did what he does best, provoke a verbal duel. He incited Aamir into a war of words, and the two exchanged rather corny statements like, “if he’s the Badshaah, I’m the Ace’. Neither of them stopped short of taking digs at each other in trying to prop up their own case. Aamir, usually non-confrontational, was probably playing SRK’s game to promote his films. And it worked for him. But when these two were indulging in this child play of calling each other names and proclaiming their self to be the No.1 there was a man watching their banter with a smirk on his face.
Akshay Kumar has never needed to go over the top to stake his claim of being the most bankable hero in the industry. His rewards were coming from the industry itself, with filmmakers signing him for astronomical prices. Each day there were announcements of films signed and offered to Akshay, and the price tag kept going higher by the day. Last heard Akshay was being offered 27 crores per film, an amount unheard of even by the almighty SRK. Akki was the darling of the masses, for them he could not go wrong and they flocked to the theatres to watch every film of his. And his ever growing popularity with the masses was the solid ground for his astronomical fees. If Akshay had four releases last year, Namastey London, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyya and Welcome and each one of them was a bigger hit than the other. It was observed by his proud producers that their star hero had grossed 530 crores in the year through his films much more than any other actor in Bollywood, SRK included. No actor could bring in the returns like Akshay did and what more could a producer ask for.
When the reports of Akshay raking in 530 crores through his films were made public, SRK lost his sleep. Despite OSO’s super success, he realized he couldn’t match up to Akshay’s films’ profits as the numbers spoke for themselves. To rub salt in his wounds he heard that Yashraj was paying Akshay his market price as they already had in Tashan to make him an integral part of their banner. Yashraj has been SRK’s home ground so far, and he feels he’s been taken for granted by them for being home-bred, as SRK still works for them after a drastic pay cut. Realizing that his arch rival was under no such deal with Yashraj, SRK was seething with rage and went and had a talk with the Chopras to get his due.
But talking for himself isn’t where Shah Rukh was going to stop at. He had found a target in Akshay and he was going to take a dig at him whenever possible. He first did so at an awards show where he was the host but Akshay was up to the task this time and returned SRK’s verbal onslaught with interest. His success has embolded Akshay further and he is coming into his own with his wit and sharp retorts. SRK had to eat a humble pie that evening but it wasn’t going to stop him.
He began taking potshots at Akshay at every private gathering of his. The sole purpose of such gatherings with his friends appears to be finding a platform to ridicule his rivals and boost his ego. But outside his own group of friends also SRK was at it. At business tycoon, Mukesh Ambani’s party recently, SRK performed a gig and it was evident that the whole act was to put down Akshay. The audience was shocked to hear the Vitriol dished out at Akshay who wasn’t even present at the gathering to be able to retort if he wanted to. The unfairness of the whole exercise ended up leaving a bad taste in everyone’s mouth who left the party confirming their thoughts of SRK being a sore loser.
Obviously, Akshay has hit SRK where it hurts the most and the King Khan is acting like a wild bull on a rampage. In the process he is ending up doing more damage to himself and his reputation than Akshay. Akshay has formed a successful pairing with director Priyadarshan, Bhool Bhulaiyya being their latest hit. SRK who wouldn’t give Priyan even a patient hearing once, today has gone and signed a film with him in order to break his pairing with Akshay. How wrong could a master player like SRK play his cards? With this move he has made it evident that Akshay matters so much to him that he, of all people, would accommodate a director. While Akshay’s success with various directors makes it clear that he never needed a Priyadrashan to shore up his boat. Neither does Akshay need to resort to publicity gimmicks like Aamir Khan does to promote his films. Akshay is a master of his own destiny, writing a new chapter in his success story each day, improving his own record with every film. Akshay’s competition, to use the actor’s mouthed cliche, is himself. There are serious facts and figures that stand proof. If SRK and Aamir have to indulge in some warfare they can do as they please. But they’ll only be fighting to be the second best. Because the Best one has already claimed his rightful position.