Well, really Shahrukh and YRF.  They just posted (like, a few hours ago, just in time for my morning twitter check!) 5 amazing videos that were, I guess, reverse fanvids?  Videos that Shahrukh and YRF made about fans, instead of the videos I highlighted yesterday, that were made by fans for Shahrukh and YRF.  I have many many thoughts!  But first, I want to get a post up just so you can all see the videos.

This is the first video, and Shahrukh tweeted the link himself:

 

No subtitles yet, but they will probably be added shortly.  Why does YRF always do that?!?!?  Do they just forget to add them and then suddenly remember 48 hours later?  Or is it some sort of sign that they care about the local audience first and only the non-Hindi speakers later?

So, you have to live with my terrible loose translations.  The first guy is a doctor who is a fan of Charlie Chaplin since childhood.  In order to teach other children about Chaplin, he has what he calls a “Chaplin Circle”.  He and a bunch of kids (as you saw in the film) dress up and go stand in a circle in the middle of a traffic round doing Chaplin poses.

The second guy is a Cricket fan (no duh!), specifically a fan of Sachin Tendulkar.  He talks about how there are people now who are fans of him as a fan of Sachin, and he doesn’t necessarily like that.  But, he does like that everyone calls him “Sachin Bhai”.  Because he feels like, if they are all fans of Sachin, then they are all brothers.

The third guy is a fan of Michael Jackson (duh!).  He talks about how he wrote a song, back when the “controversy” first started.  How he sells thing so he can buy more MJ paraphenalia.  How one of his most precious possessions is a notebook that he started as a teenager, in which he wrote down the lyrics of all the songs, since there was no way to buy lyric books at that time, so he had to listen to them over and over to hear them.  And sometimes, when he is sad or misses Michael, he practices his dances again.

And the fourth guy is an Amitabh fan, because you have to end with an Amitabh fan!  What I find interesting here, is that they have to start by saying all the things he doesn’t do.  Because Amitabh fans are everywhere and do everything (for instance, paint enormous murals around the corner from his house, which is what this guy is standing in front of at the beginning).  No, what this guy does is collect posters.  He has such a big collection, he actually was able to turn it into a book, and now considers himself a film historian.  And he was able to meet Amitabh and get him to write the forward.

(this mural.)

I mentioned that Shahrukh tweeted the link himself, because the other videos, including this one, he let the subjects of them present the tweet and just re-tweeted it.

 

This one is pretty straight-forward.  There is a guy in Mauritius who really really loves SRK.  He started SRKUniverse as a meeting place online for the fans.  He supervises all the many international branches and serves to connect them all.  Even though he himself has to travel all the way to India or Sri Lanka just to see a film, because they do not play in Mauritius.  He is a fan not just of the films, but of SRK himself.  Which inspires him to help people, to perform charity work.  For instance, he found out about a sick little boy (I missed what he was sick with) who needed help paying for medicine.  The SRKUniverse organized and started a campaign to raise money, eventually SRK re-tweeted one of their pleas, which got them media attention, and now they have all the money they need.  And then the big finale, SRKUniverse had a big reunion outside Mannat for Shahrukh’s 50th.  And Shahrukh himself ended up coming to their party!  It also includes the quote that gave this whole campaign its theme, “Tu Nahin Samjhega” (you can’t understand), said by that young woman in the hijab as to what she would say to her parents if they asked her why she traveled all the way to India to stand outside Mannat.

 

Again, this one is a re-tweet, from the original subject, and Shahrukh says in his message that he has met this family and prays for them.

 

And now I MUST go to Lucknow and see this!  He explains that Shahrukh helped him meet his wife (I didn’t get all the details of that part), he named his son Aryan, and his daughter Simran.  And the whole family works together, cutting pictures and decorating their store.  The whole town knows him from his car, and he goes by “Vishahrukh Khan”.  Finally, they had a grand opening, where the public was welcome into his store and the many Shahrukh themed rooms.

What I find fascinating is that people love this man and flock to his store.  Fans like this exist all over the world for all kinds of different things, but in most places they would be tolerated, or perhaps treated a little fearfully.  In India, these kinds of fans are loved!!!

 

Another one that was just a re-tweet:

 

First, how beautiful is Kerala?  As I mentioned, I have just started getting into those films and I am just stunned by how pretty it is!  So, this one, I was getting only a few words here and there.  But I think the story is, these two brothers really love SRK, and they want to bring the beauty and joy of SRK to others.  So they visit hospitals and nursing homes and bring gifts and show films.  They even have a theater where they have sick children (I think I heard leprosy?) came and play and watch the films and be happy.  So nice!

 

The grand finale!  I love this one.  The whole world is coming together, and everyone is valued.  Plus, I know a lot of these people!  Through @iamsrk!  He’s been re-tweeting their videos and pictures and artwork all along.  I suppose it could have been some YRF intern digging through his twitter feed who pulled all these people up, but I like to think that Shahrukh himself said “Hey you guys, these are my favorite fanvids, look these people up for your video!”