Rachel and I were just talking in the comments about how confusing Ek Ladki Ko Dekha is because you don’t know if you want Anil as your father or your husband. And then I started thinking about how Shahrukh has so many roles with the same problem.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayange
Raj, charming and naughty and witty. Rich, a bit immature. Sincerely enjoys the company of women of all ages, from little Chutki to Farida and Himani Shivpuri. And, of course, Mandira Bedi and Kajol.
So, do you want him for your lover, your father, or your son?
Dilwale
Tormented, but responsible and kind. Doting even. A man who knows what he wants and is in no hurry to get it.
Lover, father, or son?
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Funny, fun, a bit hyper. Spoils his daughter rotten, loves his mother and sincerely enjoys being with her, super good at romance.
Lover, father, or son?
Swades
Serious, likes doing paperwork, works hard at his job. Enjoys dancing and playing with children, encourages little girls to go to school and pursue their dreams. And cares about his nanny enough that he flies half way around the world to bring her home with him.
Lover, father, or son?
Chak De! India
Puts his career on the line to support female athletes. Gives advice about marriage problems, supports woman taking a night off to have sex with their boyfriends, and is ready to have their back in a fight. Also looks good wearing a whistle.
Lover, father, or son?
Asoka
Violence issues, hair issues, anger issues. But very loyal and obedient to his mother, and passionately devoted in his love story. And a father who is willing to kill for you while you are still in the womb.
Lover, father, or son?
Real Life SRK
Brilliant, charismatic, rich. Workaholic, moody, needy. Feminist, endlessly supportive of your dreams while still instituting firm parental limits. So desperate for family that any parental figure gets infinite love and gifts.
Lover, father, or son?
Okay, here’s the challenge! You can only choose Lover twice. Use your choices wisely, and consider other options.
For me:
DDLJ: Lover (my first love, can’t turn my back on him)
Dilwale: Father (such a great dopey Dad type!)
Kuch Kuch: Son (I think he might be to much as either father or lover, but son is perfect)
Swades: Lover (can’t resist a man who does paperwork)
Chak De: Father (I want someone to support my dreams like that!)
Asoka: Son (I could fix EVERYTHING if he would only listen to me)
Real Life SRK: Father. Definitely. I do not need that kind of energy in either a son or a lover, let him take care of me because I don’t want to try it the other way around.
dontcallitbollywood 
Alas, at my age, SRK as father does not work. I’m old enough to be his real life mom. So, I had to change the choices to Brother, Lover (okay, I’m dirty old lady) and Son.
1-DDLJ- son. (Anupam is so cute)
2-Dilwale – brother. He is so good at it in this movie.
3- KKHH – lover. So charming and hugable
4- Swades – son. “My son, the rocket scientist,” has such a nice ring to it.
5. Chak De India – lover. After mucking about with all those girls all day, he’d need an….outlet for all his pent up testosterone. I’d sacrifice myself for him.
6- Asoka – son. I would nag – “take a bath, change your clothes, mind your manners and for pete’s sake, get a haircut!”
7- brother. He is so caring to his real life sister, he’s got this brother thing down to a science.
And, as a bonus 8 – Dear Zindagi – husband! We could play Kabaddi with the sea every weekend.
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Had not occurred to me to factor in who the father was when making the “mother” decision! Very smart point.
I feel like if Asoka’s real in-movie mother had just tried a bit harder, she could have made her son a lot happier. You or I would do a way better job.
On Tue, Oct 15, 2019 at 11:41 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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DDLJ: Father – Kajol will settle him down and he’ll turn into Rahul from K3G.
Dilwale: Lover – sexy, with a complicated past but a healthy present and perspective.
Kuch Kuch: Son, totally agree. He’s best with Farida.
Swades: the perfect son.
Chak De: Kabir can be my other lover, as long as he doesn’t spend every waking hour coaching. Such a good guy, but with a hidden intensity that would be interesting to explore.
Asoka: Father, I’d want to spend our years together with the enlightened Asoka, after he was done rampaging and murdering people.
Real Life SRK: gonna go with boss. He takes up a lot of space, seems appealing to be able to disengage at the end of the day.
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Wow, Asoka as father! You are brave. Lots of intrigue in that court you’d have to survive. But, on the other hand, the enlightened law making Asoka does seem like a pretty great parent.
Glad to hear I am not the only one who senses something interesting in Chak De Shahrukh!
And I like your outside the box thinking with real SRK! Although I don’t know if I would want him even as boss, seems like it would be an intoxicating work environment such that you find yourself working longer hours than you intended and caring more than is healthy about your work.
On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 12:18 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I think of SRK as my on screen friend. If I go for a while without seeing him on screen I’ll think “I miss my friend Shah Rukh Khan.” He is lover, and father, and son to all those other people on the screen, but not to me. So if friend was an option, I would pick it every time. But it isn’t, so I’ll play:
DDLJ – lover
Diwale – father
Kuch… – father
Swades – son
Chak de.. – lover (the coaching makes me think of my poor overworked soccer coach spouse)
Asoka – NO RELATION WHAT SO EVER! It is not a good plan to be in this character’s family
Real life – I have to say that I think it would suck to be his wife, he’s too famous and too busy and maintaining a relationship in all of that would be hard. He is a loving father but growing up surrounded by all that fame would be hard. However, if he was my child, I know he would take care of me. I wouldn’t necessarily choose his life for my own sons, but SRK is living the life he wants to live, so I would choose son.
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I thought I was the only one who liked DDLJ SRK!!!!! Now I have to share him with everyone? Blech!
I don’t mind sharing Chak De SRK, we know he is good at balancing the needs of multiple women.
HA! You are avoiding Asoka entirely, Emily is leaping in as his child. Of course, Emily is also avoiding Real SRK while you are leaping in as his parent.
On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 12:24 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Oh man! Ok here goes (I like the films you chose for this exercise…these are the ones for sure where it could go one of 3 ways)
DDLJ: Father (you can see the potential in his caretaking of Kajol when she’s fasting)
Dilwale: Lover – no question. So unbelievably hot in that film in both parts, angry and vengeful and then mature and strong.
Kuch Kuch: Father – so great w little Anjali, and rain scene notwithstanding, too much baggage from Rani’s death to be a lover.
Swades: perfect son.
Chak De: hmmm, fatherly toward the team in a way that empowers them. Yup, father.
Asoka: Son.
Real Life SRK: I have a high-natured spouse so I’m pretty adept at managing such personalities, possibly because I am intense in my own right. Definitely lover!
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Whoa, taking on real life SRK? You are the bravest of us all.
On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 2:46 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Interesting choice of movies!
Well, for 1 to 6, it’s a funny play of imagination, so:
Raj = son (I would like his father as a husband, soooo cool)
Kali = lover (just imagining shouting Kaaaaaliiii…and he comes…around the corner)
Rahul = father (what a great dad he will be during my ‘difficult’ years)
Mohan = lover (so much to explore together…and he is eager to learn)
Kabir = father (I would admire him and he would understand me and teach me life alonside)
Asoka= father (I could help to spread what he will teach me…and he loves me, will protect me)
ShahRukh = to keep it in the realm of fancy: son (hi needs a mother!!!)
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A bit naughty, Claudia. I like it!
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I hadn’t thought about it, but real life SRK probably needs a mother as much or more than Asoka. Especially now that he has his own hair issues (highlights? Really?).
On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 9:09 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Raj=son–stealing everyone’s idea that Anupam would be a fun hubby. But does that mean I’m dead?
Kali=father–he’s a great father/brother to Varun, and he and mature Kajol would be great parents
Rahul=father–if anything. I so dislike this movie.
Mohan=lover–competence, intelligence, compassion, and a cool RV to hang out in
Kabir=lover–all that passion and drive, and he knows how to adapt to and work with different moods, wants, and needs of women. Plus he’s in great shape!
Asoka=son–same reason as others, he needs a better mom. Though she did manage to keep him alive when he was too young to defend himself.
Real–related to what Genevieve said, I think of the real Shah Rukh as a friend. So I’m going with that option. A friend on whom I have a very painful crush, but manage it because his friendship would be worth the pain.
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I think for DDLJ, you would clearly either be his stepmom, or be his mother who is strong enough to stay alive.
Does the choice of Mohan and Kabir indicate you will fall for anyone wearing a halyard?
I think that pain-but-worth-it in the friendship perfectly describes the feelings of all of Shahrukh’s real life friends. You know you love him and need him and want him more than he wants you, but you fight through the pain because the little scraps you get are so amazing.
On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 9:42 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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That’s why I would largely prefer to be his mother…I could spend a lot of time in his presence (ha ha!).
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I‘ll settle for IRL SRK simply because he is all of them. I will choose the role of lover for the same reason. He is a great lover in any type of role to sentient beings, as a father, partner, son, perhaps even friend. =P
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Good logic!
On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 11:54 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I’m going through old mail to delete and I found this. I must have kept it to answer later and never did. So I know, Margaret only you will see this, but here’s my vote anyway: IRL Shah Rukh: I’d like to be one of the old friends.. someone whose calls he always takes. I’d like to be able to sit and talk to him for hours. Son= Swades— love and devotion forever. Lover= Suri—-Molly
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You weren’t the only one who picked “Friend”. But luckily “friend” is not a zero sum game, we can all be his friends in real life. On the other hand, you may have to fight some people for Suri.
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