SRK-Kajol: The saga of falling in love, again and again
“We are a very ordinary couple in extraordinary love stories. We have never been a glamorous couple — we don’t looking stunning, we don’t look bad.” This is what Shah Rukh Khan said, in a recent interview in an effort to deconstruct what makes his legendary chemistry with co-star Kajol crackle and spit over two decades.
The recent release, Dilwale, projected their pairing for the seventh time — they romanced on screen last in My Name is Khan five years ago — as one the movie’s biggest attractions. And, those who have seen the film will agree that their love story is the pivot around which everything revolves in Rohit Shetty’s film — the actions and emotional manipulations, the mafia war, familial sacrifice and an allied romantic track involving their siblings. Kajol-SRK’s romance is the spine of the entertainer with domestic earnings now of over Rs 100-crore.
But one grouse: why could Rohit Shetty not put aside glamour, car chases and gun-fighting for once to tap the Kajol-SRK pairing? Well, let’s leave the debate over the merit of Shetty’s movie — and the money-spinner it is touted to be — for another day. For now, let’s try to understand the lead actors’ famous “chemistry”; their fascinating presence on screen and their camaraderie off screen.
A detailed explanation comes from Khan: “We are the only on-screen couple who has worked over the last 22 years. Usually, a pairing survives barely 5-6 years. For instance, Anil Kapoor-Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla and I. Somehow because of the way Kajol works, we have done only seven films together so far.”
They appeared together, for the first time, in Baazigar (1993). At the time, Kajol had not enjoyed commercial success even though her debut performance in Bekhudi (1992) was appreciated. Khan was already a popular actor with his boyish charm, raw energy and successes, like Deewana (1992) and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992). For both, Baazigar became a major turning point. She was a rich brat, determined to find her sister’s killer. He was her sister’s killer who wanted to settle scores with her father. Yet, there was an unmistakable ‘something’ between them. The film catapulted them to stardom and the industry got a bankable on-screen couple — or jodi as they say in Bollywood parlance.
Even though, together they have captured the imagination of the Hindi cinema audience for so long, their appearances have been sporadic, especially after Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) when Kajol opted for a sabbatical. Prior to that, of course, they had acted in immensely popular movies like Karan Arjun (1995), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), apart from Baazigar. The success of their chemistry in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) — which has completed a 20-year run at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir and is still running — is now part of Bollywood folklore.
Nearly a decade after Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, when filmmaker Karan Johar brought them back in My Name is Khan (2010), their onscreen presence had still retained the sizzle. In the role of a single parent, Kajol lit up the screen with her verve while Khan once again made us feel the depth of his love for her. Rekindling their “chemistry” seemed as effortless as ever. Kajol has her own take on how this happens. “We have not paid so much attention to it. Ninety percent of the time, we don’t know what we are doing. It is difficult to describe it. Magic has a mystery to it. And it would not be magical, if we could describe it,” she says when asked about it during an interview to The Indian Express.
Among the star jodis, Kajol-SRK are in the top-most league along with Raj Kapoor-Nargis and Amitabh Bachchan-Rekha. Kapoor and Nargis, who were lovers in real life, acted in 16 movies together (most of them were big hits like Awara, Shree 420 and Chori Chori), before the latter walked out of his movies and life with a broken heart. Bachchan and Rekha share credit for 18 movies together. Of them, they have appeared as lovers in some six movies, including Alaap (1977), Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978) and Suhaag (1979). The last one being Silsila (1981), which showcased their yearning and passion for each other. This, further sparked the imagination of the audience which was aware of the off-the-screen romance between the much-married Bachchan and the gorgeous Rekha.
Unlike these famous jodis, Kajol and Khan have always been friends. Their camaraderie is a joy to watch especially during their public appearances to celebrate 20 years of DDLJ. Also, in a series of videos that YRF posted online to mark DDLJ’s landmark year. To most of us that’s what makes them, together, something special: friends who create the magic of love on celluloid. Can the director who succeeds in bringing them together next, for the eighth time, think of creating a love story that will match the Kajol-SRK myth-in-the-making? -indianexpress
