SRK remains Jawan: Bollywood stars are busting a risky career move, and making it work

When superstars take a break, fans go into therapy. Indians love and live cinema. They take their idols seriously, building temples for them and making them politicians. Stars seldom disappoint their fans either, aware as they are of their own shelf life, and the iffy darkness of character roles once the sun has set. Which is why a star absconding from screen in what are his heydays is a suspense thriller of its own.

But that is exactly what Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan are doing. They have stepped back when the market is still panting for them, choosing to strategize rather than sign blindly. After Fan in 2016 and Zero in 2018, SRK seemed to need some me-time. He came back with Pathaan this year and now there is Jawan lined up, a title that literally declares his evergreen status at the box office.

Aamir came in last year with Laal Singh Chaddha, adapted from Forrest Gump, which perhaps did not meet his own expectations, the perfectionist that he is rumoured to be. And now he seems to have gone into a bit of a huddle, with reports of him mulling a biopic and a remake, or just be producer. Which means the wait for the audience to see him on screen gets that much longer.

After Amitabh Bachchan ruled the roost, for the longest time Hindi cinema divided stardom between the three Khans: Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir. Roughly the same age, the troika easily ruled commercial cinema. There seemed to be no stopping them. Between them they routinely delivered the biggest hits, their films historical landmarks. Then suddenly they started to pace themselves, puzzling their audiences.