Today was a good day. I got a personalized video from Shah Rukh Khan.
Andy Warhol postulated that everyone would have their 15 minutes of fame. That was back in 1968. Forty-five years ago.
With social media becoming mainstream, this adage seems passé. Not only does social media speed up the distribution of information but it changes the definition of fame. Because of social media, this mantra has morphed into "everyone will be famous to fifteen people".
However, that doesn't work for the superstar SRK, whose fanbase is at least a billion people around the world. On Facebook, Shah Rukh Khan Brasil posted the following Times of India interview with SRK:
Fans: "I don't know what to do with them. There are days I want to stand on the roof, take my clothes off, jump on them and say, 'please eat me, drink me up, do what you wish to '. They scratch me, pull me, love me. They touch my hair as if it's their own hair. I would love to spend days with them, meeting them one by one. I could dedicate my life to doing that. I just want to be enveloped, eaten up and be digested by my fans."
Every SRKian would like to spend time with King Khan. But we recognize that isn't a possibility for most of us. So we spend time watching his films, talking (and blogging) about his films, sharing the latest news and thinking highly of him when he waxes rhapsodic on Twitter.
But as part of the promotion for Chennai Express, SRK took on the herculean task of creating a #FamilyExpress personalized video for social media fans who watched the film on 23-25 August and sent him a photo of their family.
My husband, son and I had already seen the film on 8 August, the day it was released in the U.S. We don't often see the same film twice (opting to wait for the DVD/Blu-ray version to be released), but I talked them into joining me again for this special promotion. Of course, we enjoyed the film just as much the second time as we did the first.
When we returned home, I dutifully pulled the necessary resources together and emailed them off to SRK and his team. I was hopeful of getting a video, but I was certain that it would take some time given his fanbase and his hectic schedule. I checked my email periodically, but not impatiently; hopeful, but not expectant.
Then, this morning, the following email arrived:
We thank you for sending in your entries and participating in the Family Express contest. Great to see such an overwhelming response.
As promised, here's a special video we've shot with King Khan, just for you. Bollywood's Badshaah thanks you for your love and support in making Chennai Express, the biggest blockbuster of all time!
Do keep the love and support coming in and follow us on social media.
Thanks,
Chennai Express Digital Team.
Attached to the email was the following video:
15 minutes of fame? Passé.
40 seconds of Shah Rukh Khan talking about me and my family? Priceless.