I was going to write a really good interesting post today, and then my work computer decided to reboot with updates for 2 hours which killed my writing time. So instead you have to be happy with this completely silly narrow casting post. For those of you who are passionately in love with classic English novels, and also Shahrukh.
Classic English Novel Heroes:
North and South
Hardscrabble hardworking new money hero who falls in love with a caring young woman who befriends his workers.
Pride and Prejudice
Mr. Darcy. Who is…Mr. Darcy. And also Colin Firth. I really have no more description to offer.
Jane Eyre
Mr. Rochester. Witty, cynical, but ultimately tries his best, and completely falls in love with the heroine’s mind.
Daddy-Long-Legs
Smart, caring, rich man who supports many charities but also likes to go on picnics and laugh, and falls in love with the letters he gets from a much younger woman.
Persuasion
Captain Wentworth. Stoic, hard to read, hides a passionate decade long love within his heart.
Strong Poison
Lord Peter Wimsey. Brilliant, seemingly casual but actually tormented and dedicated, falls in love at first sight with a strong unconventional difficult brilliant woman and patiently waits for her for years until she learns to love him.
Sense and Sensibility
Colonel Brandon, silent, steady, serious, but with a soft considerate heart inside of him.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch. Ignore the depressing sequel, just look at who he is in this book. A widower and devoted father to his small children, reserved and serious, but always ultimately honest and true to himself.
The Last of the Mohicans
Natty Bumpo. Woodsman, at one with nature, lives by his own rules and beliefs. Yes, I have read the book, and it is not as good as the movie (and has almost nothing in common with it), and yet it is also super fun!
Okay, which of these do you most want to see Shahrukh in? Which are a totally wrong fit? Which novels did I forget?
dontcallitbollywood 
My favourites here are Atticus and Lord Peter…but wouldn’t he fit every english novel gentleman with a caring/charming/intelligent/witty/adventurous/courageous/etc. mind in his mid-forties?
I would offer Sir Percy Blakeney (Scarlet Pimpernel)…not as a biographic role though as Sir Percy was in his early thirties when rescuing noble men during the French Revolution.
It’s not that easy anymore, I think, to find a matching role in English romance novels…
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Ooo, Sir Percy Would be Good! With Madhuri as Lady Blakeney. But we would have to use a time machine and make it 15 years ago.
On Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 1:21 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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He would be amazing as Rochester. Gruff bordering on rude but still irresistibly attractive, then revealed to have a dark secret that’s tearing him apart.
Wimsey is my runner up. Hadn’t thought about that pairing, it would be fun to see him as a fiercely intelligent investigator who masquerades as a mama’s boy dilettante. He could pull off the wit and erudition.
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Wimsey would also allow for the Harriet Vane pairing, which would be such a fun romantic partnership for him, an abrasive intelligent woman who holds off from giving in to him. Who would you cast for that?
And for Rochester, if you haven’t run across this already (and if you are a fanfic person), here is my massive Jane Eyre script which, I think, is essentially perfect: https://dontcallitbollywood.com/2017/04/23/silly-sunday-speculative-post-world-book-day-lets-remake-jane-eyre-as-a-hindi-film/
On Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 9:30 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I would cast Juhi as Harriet. I would always cast Juhi, but I also feel like her light touch would be perfect for a Wimsey story, and she would be an even match for Shah Rukh.
For Jane Eyre…harder. I would think Manisha Koirala, but Dil Se era. Now maybe…Radhika Apte? Kiara Advani? I think of Jane as quiet and well mannered and a bit homely, with a toughness and survival instinct born of being always overlooked. And a secret streak of strong desire.
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Maybe Kiara? She is very beautiful, but it is a quiet beauty, and I think if the darkness of her skin is emphasized and her clothes made ill-fitting, she could look right. Mostly thought I think she has the right screen presence, very dignified and reserved but with a sparkle in her eyes.
Love Juhi as Harriet!
On Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 3:08 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I don’t disagree about Kiara, but I think I might rather see a Shah Rukh- Radhika match-up. Radhika definitely seems like she could hold her own.
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Yeah, I’m just suddenly sick of Radhike. Too many roles all in a row, I am starting to get tired of her tics. I’m also not sure she can play quiet and low confidence? I’ve only seen her in roles where she is a little more sure of herself.
On Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 6:34 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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He would be perfect in all those roles, but I personally would pay to see him as Mr. Rochester
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I’m so pleased by how much you love my Jane Eyre fanfic!!!! Only, I am still stumped on Jane, I like Konkona or Kalkie, but they still don’t feel really perfect. Ideas?
On Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 9:33 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I still against Kalki as Jane Eyre, and still think dark-skinned actress should play this role or Shikha Talsania, what do you think?
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Hmm, what about Parvathy?
On Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 12:21 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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LOL you know I can never say no to Parvathy (in any role)
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Only problem is, now I kind of want to swap Shahrukh for Prithviraj as Rochester.
On Tue, Jul 23, 2019 at 12:36 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hmm, if it was a dream world – i would cast Manju Warrier (older or younger) for any of these roles against Shahrukh. I think they’d be dynamic and Manju can do both comedy and drama with such ease.
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Oh, she would be great for Jane Eyre! Not a traditionally attractive look, but an interesting face that she can make “plain” and then “pretty” moment by moment.
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Colonel Brandon, please! I’d also like to see him as the husband in Rebecca. Rochester he could do in his sleep–though in my new obsession with Prithvi and Parvathy I love that casting for Jane Eyre too. Shah Rukh would be wonderfully dark as older Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, but we’d have to have a younger actor play teenage Heathcliff–to avoid the weird de-aging stuff Red Chillies does. If only we knew what chops Aryan has.
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Oh, he’d be good as the uncle/father in Secret Garden too. So sad, gruff, and distant, then healed by the children. That would be fun to see.
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Yes! And he is so good with kids, I’d love to see him in a role largely opposite child actors.
On Sun, Jul 28, 2019 at 3:23 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I can’t decide if I love Colonel Brandon, or if I just love Alan Rickman. But either way, if Shahrukh plays Colonel Brandon based largely on Alan Rickman’s performance, I would be a happy camper.
On Sun, Jul 28, 2019 at 3:21 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’ve loved Colonel Brandon since I read the book. Alan Rickman is great, and he and Shah Rukh both have those wonderful voices. I’m sure Shah Rukh would give a nod to Rickman, but also make the role his own.
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Have you watched Kandukondain Kandukondain yet? Mammootty does an amazing Colonel Brandon, he plays it as kind of a gruff jokey kidding older neighbor type, not strong and silent but too loud and laughing and everything. Only of course deep deep down he is a tragic noble hero.
On Sun, Jul 28, 2019 at 3:30 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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