The Pakistani army commander asks his doctor, who is looking at x-rays anxiously, if he has cancer, and he answers him in the affirmative. He calms down and inquires about the remaining years of his life, and he says, "Maybe 3 years." Meanwhile, the television in the room broadcasts the news of the Indian government's cancellation of the special status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Then the Pakistani general decides, while he is still with the doctor, to take revenge on India and to use the remaining years of his life in this mission.

He takes a decision to sign a contract from a private armed organization that is in turn waging an intelligence war with a military unit founded by a former Indian agent named Pathan. He was played by the famous Indian Muslim actor Shah Rukh Khan, known as "Shahrukh Khan" in the Indian movie "Pathan" directed by Indian director and screenwriter Siddharth Anand, a year production. 2023.

I remember in 2015 when Shahrukh Khan visited Edinburgh to receive an honorary doctorate from Princess Anne, the president of the university, he was dressed in a formal suit and delivered a famous lecture on success in life, after which he took off this formal robe on the university stage and rolled up his forearms and engaged in a traditional Indian dance link in front of the audience To the tune of Indian music amidst the cheering and admiration of the students.

The new film bears several unmistakable contradictions, as the hero is the first star on the throne of Indian Bollywood cinema, nicknamed King Khan, but at the same time he belongs to the Muslim minority that is subjected to political and social persecution in the country.

Although he achieved great public and financial success, his latest film did not escape the traps of polarization in society.

Indian movie "Pathaan" by Indian actor Shahrukh Khan and director Siddharth Anand 2023 (communication sites)

It sparked demonstrations not because of its subject, but because of a saffron-colored swimsuit worn by one of the actresses. Hindu extremist groups saw it as an insult to this religious symbol, so they burned the movie poster in the demonstrations, calling for a boycott of the film, and it came to the point that a Hindu monk threatened to burn Shahrukh Khan alive if he saw it.

These contradictions seem to be a familiar feature not only in India, but also in the career of the actor Shahrukh Khan himself, who represents a case of struggle to coexist in the field of the Indian film industry, amid a flood of continuous professional and personal challenges.

The subcontinent, which used to be an example of coexistence between different religions, cultures and languages, became, overnight, a source for news of the Hindu extremist right's attacks and persecution of Muslims.

Likewise, Shahrukh Khan, who is 58 years old and presented the romantic and helpless character in a number of his films, returns to the role of action, excitement and adventures in his new movie "Pathan".

He is sometimes in his films a lover looking for love and safety, and at other times he is the poor Muslim, and at other times he is the commanding superhero.

He is also, in fact, expressive of the pride of the Muslims of India and representative of their success, especially since he came from the middle class, while others see him as an expression of religious pluralism in the country because his family has other religions.

Educated actor, ambassador of Indian cinema

In many situations, Shah Rukh Khan refuses to mention that he combines many things that seem contradictory. I remember in 2015 when he visited Edinburgh to receive an honorary doctorate from Princess Anne, President of the University, he was wearing a formal suit and gave a famous lecture on success in life.

This honor and this lecture showed him the appearance of a conscious intellectual, and reminded him that he holds a bachelor's and master's degrees. After that, he took off this official robe on the university stage, rolled up his forearms, and engaged in a traditional Indian dance in front of the audience to the tunes of Indian music, amidst the cheering and admiration of the students.

Shahrukh Khan seems to be undisputedly on the throne of Bollywood cinema, and this cinema owes him credit for its global spread in recent years.

His story is a story of individual and collective success that seems inspiring, but its end is not yet settled, because Shahrukh Khan is still in the crosshairs of extremist Hindus who are calling for a boycott of Muslim actors in Indian cinema.

This is another realistic drama that the man's fans follow on the news, in which the human gets mixed up with the political and the artistic with the personal.

And Shahrukh Khan confronts all of this with remarkable discipline in his statements and actions. He did not get involved in irresponsible responses to the hate campaigns targeting him and Muslims, and this strengthened his popularity locally and internationally and made him maintain his image despite the problems that follow him from time to time.

Two years ago, his son Aryan was charged with drug possession and spent 3 weeks in prison in the capital, New Delhi, before the investigations acquitted him of this charge. An officer also tried to blackmail his son, which was later revealed by the court.

Shahrukh Khan had to be absent for months from public opinion and the masses before he returned again.

This struggle against racism is crowned by a clear professional and class struggle in the man's career, and it cannot be separated from a culture rooted in the Muslims of India that has accumulated historical experience in dealing with these waves of hatred.

Shahrukh Khan's father was a member of the "Ubaidullah" movement, which was founded by Abdul Ghaffar Khan, one of the pioneers of the non-violent struggle in India against the British occupation and a companion of Mahatma Gandhi. The movement attached great importance to living simply and doing volunteer work for at least two hours a day.

What is also remarkable about Shah Rukh Khan's career is that he always talks and analyzes the reasons for failure as well as the reasons for success, and he has no problem with confession, describing this and that in reconciliation with oneself. It is rarely expressed so frankly among international movie stars.

Perhaps these qualities were a factor in adding to the popularity enjoyed by Shah Rukh Khan in the Arab world;

We can classify the Arab fondness for Indian cinema historically on one side and the Shah Rukh Khan phenomenon on the other side.

When we make a simple comparison between the production of books in English and Arabic about Shahrukh Khan, we find that the English books dealt with the personality, the status of the phenomenon and stardom, such as the book "King of Bollywood" by Indian critic and writer Anupama Chopra, while the Arabic books engaged in the literary and emotional expression of the phenomenon such as the novel "Shahrukh Khan with the headband". by Amin Al-Shami and the book “In Search of Shahrukh Khan, 40 Days in India” by Mahdi Mubarak.