Reflects on Life pointed out on yesterday’s post that it really wasn’t fair because still photos don’t completely convey everything. So, songs! Do you prefer young and hyperactive SRK, or old and slow moving?
Young Fast Dance
Old Fast Dance
Young Duet in Europe
Old Duet in Europe
Young Gangster Club Song
Old Gangster Club Song
Young Romantic Holi Song
Old Romantic Holi Song
Young inspirational speech to young women song
Old Inspirational Speech to young women Song
Young Punjabi village song
Old Punjabi village song
Young love song
Old love song
Okay, ready for my choices?
“Kaali Kaali” over “Tuker Tuker”
“Radha” over “Zara Se Jhoom Loon Mein”
“Leila” over “Main Hoon Don” (although this was really close)
“Mere Naam Tu” over “Soni Soni”
“Love You Zindagi” over “Chak De India”
“Butterfly” over “Lodi”
“Tujhe Dekho” always over EVERYTHING
Huh! Only one young choice over old! So I guess his songs at least have gotten better with age.
How about you?
dontcallitbollywood 
Simple answer: I prefer ShahRukh…young & old, cleanly shaved & with beard, whatever his hairstyle (including Shekhar’s in Ra.One) or outfit…and he has slow moving moments when young and still very energetic moving now 🙂
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I would put Zara Sa Zhoom Loon over Radha mostly because even though I think Radha is the better song Zara Sa is the better Shahrukh song. Also, I would pick Main Hoon Don over Leila. Between Chak De and Love You Zindagi, I want to pick both.
I am also struck by how little Kajol seems to have changed between the older and younger versions of the love song.
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Yeah, Kajol really has a great face for aging. It just doesn’t seem to change.
On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 5:51 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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He’s not old! He’s middle-aged.
I truly love young and current SRK. I also find both highly attractive, albeit in different ways. What I love about the young SRK (especially the nineties SRK) is his extreme outer innocence. I love his quirky behavior, his jumping around like a Duracell battery (he still does at times). I love the insecurities that often shimmer through. And I love that he’s unaware of how appealing he is. I know he thinks (or thought at that age) that he wasn’t at all sexy or good looking or even a good actor, and so on.
And it’s crazy how long it took him to grow out of that baby look and resemble more his actual age. I’d say he started transforming around 1998 and into the millennium.
So, I’m fully with Claudia above me.
My choices are:
„Kaali Kaali“
“Radha”
„Leila“ vs. „Main Hoon Don“ = Tie (cannot pick a winner)
„Soni Soni“
„Love You Zindagi“
“Butterfly”
“Janam, Janam”
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Well, purely in terms of objective choice, you have “old” Shahrukh over young at 4 to 2!
On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 6:07 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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If I had to choose at gunpoint, I’d pick current Shah Rukh for sure. Just have to give young Shah Rukh support, too.
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Let me steer you towards this post where you can add your thoughts: https://dontcallitbollywood.com/2019/07/19/shahrukh-summer-discussion-post-why-has-he-gotten-sexier-as-he-has-gotten-older/
On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 6:14 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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And I agree he’s not old. It’s quite a derogatory term, can we use something else in here please.
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Now I am distracted by the etymology of it! I think of “old” as “someone who is older than me”. So when I was 10, then I would call an 18 year old “old”. From my perspective, Shahrukh was young and now is “old” as in 20 years older than me. But of course, that’s from the side of someone who is younger than him.
Obviously what I should do is simply switch from “young” and “old” to “young” and “older”. As in, older than when he was young.
On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 7:03 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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This is such a great excuse to lingeringly rewatch these. 🙂
As usual, almost impossible to choose as either way can be justified, but for the sake of the exercise:
1, Kaali Kaali
The exuberance of his dancing when young always warms my heart, reminds me how much he must have put heart and soul into his work in the early days when he was still establishing his place in the world and his skills. I’m a huge fan of Satrangi Re in Dil Se ( ignore the orange sleeping bag) for the way he throws himself around, as if he’s so overwhelmed his body isn’t his own anymore.
2. Radha
I prefer the song, and the goofiness of ZSJLM is, well, very goofy.
3. Leila, but only just
Very close, and Don is so classic and his smirk so good. But I love the way Leila works into the narrative and what starts out being an item song becomes a really significant plot point. I love how it uses ShahRukh, his silence, his stance, his scowl as a contrast to everything going on around him. He is so to-die-for it takes my breath away.
4. Holi Holi
This is a problem for me. When Tere Nam Su came out I watched and listened to it incessantly. It’s a beautiful song and the over the top romance tapped right into my little brain, smothering it with love and gooey-ness, it sucked me right in.
SPOILER
Then the film came out and threw a bucket of water over me. It registered in my head as ‘See, I can suck you in with the silly romance, but it’s all a sham so I can use you for my own benefit.’ That was the effect inside the film, but it could equally have been applied outside the film, with ShahRukh wanting to break the mold of the romantic hero. I’m sure he wasn’t really mocking us in real life, but I have only been able to listen to the song once since then and it brought tears to my eyes, reminds me of the difficulties he’s facing in his career, and a whole lot of other things, It still makes me so sad.
So it’s got to be Soni Soni I guess.
5. Chak de India
Love this, Love it to bits, the song, it’s place in the film, it marks a turning point in the plot, and Kabir is one of my favourite ShahRukh characters.
6. Tie
Butterfly almost snuck in because I’m not a huge Amitabh fan, and I prefer the song, but I love the acting in Lodi, Veer being a little awkward, Zaara a little shy.
7. Tie
They are too different and both are brilliant!
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I am here to give you SRK rewatches excuses!
I can attempt to give you back Tere Naam Tu, or at least share how I think of it. For me, it is Shahrukh thinking he is faking and tricking us/Anushka but actually it is his true self that even he does not yet see. Zero starts a romance, turns different, and then ends up coming back to romance. And Shahrukh the character thinks he is making up this love song for Anushka, but over the course of the film he discovers every word he said was true.
On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 6:59 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Zindagi! I love your mention of Satrangi Re! It’s my favorite song and video of all the ones I have seen for precisely the reasons you mentioned. It’s a piece of art, so full of passion and sensuality, it’s raw and has a Platonic Beauty that goes under my skin every time. It’s mesmerizing and I love seeing these two actors together. I also love the other highly under-appreciated song; Dil Se Re. Even Jiya Jale which feels the most traditional of them all. Chaiyyla Chaiyyla simply overshadowed them all due to its catchy melody and beautiful choreography and cinematography. And while highly deserved, I wish the other songs would get more love than they seem to do.
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I love Dil Se Re the best! Years and years and years ago, when I was first starting out in the films, I loved Chaiyya Chaiyya like everyone else but hadn’t seen Dil Se. My sister saw it first and told me about it and said that, after watching it, Dil Se Re was her favorite because it is about love triumphing over everything. And then I went back and watched Dil Se Re and she is right! It’s less showy than Chaiyya Chaiyya, but the way the visuals of war go on in the background and our hero and heroine bravely continue their love song is beautiful. Plus, the way Rahman himself attacks the lyrics, it’s not perfect practiced singing, but he really brings out the meaning of them.
On Sun, Aug 25, 2019 at 8:43 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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For the songs, I prefer older Shah Rukh. I find him more handsome when he’s 40ish but sexier and more intense now.
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Agree! I don’t know if you caught the “why is Shahrukh sexier now than when he was young?” discussion post, but there was agreement that he feels more focused and intense now, and that is sexy because being focused and intense is good when doing the sex.
On Sat, Aug 24, 2019 at 11:18 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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