Can King Khan Win This Battle?

He knows how to market himself and emote with his audience. That’s what makes superstar Shah Rukh Khan very special. But at 57 he is battling on several fronts.  His movie Pathaan to be released on January 25, has been dragged into controversy over the saffron-colored bikini worn by Deepika. The right wing has called for a boycott of the movie. And to make matters worse, the media has been going whole hog reporting it.  Why not? SRK has been avoiding the media like a plague. Reason, he feels the entire tribe went overboard while reporting on his son Aryan Khan’s drug case. Now, he feels he could do without them. It may be recalled that in the eighties Big B was banned by the media but it made no difference to his career. SRK does not have that luxury. He needs a box office hit. So he is using different ways to reach his audience.  At the Kolkata International Film Festival the actor spoke about the social media negativity that put spotlight on his film.  He also visited Mecca and then Vaishnodevi. He has kept pushing the envelope. He landed at Sports18 studio just before Argentina-France final kick off. Besides, he is talking to social media influencers like Faye Dsouza to put his points across to the audience. In the past inclusion of Pakistani cricketers almost led to the ban of his film My Name is Khan. Now, all eyes on January 25.