Superstar Shah Rukh Khan believes humour and entertainment are one of the most powerful tools to strengthen human bonds across various cultures, races, nationalities and religions. The 53-year-old actor, who was honoured with a doctorate in Philanthropy by The University of Law, London, on Friday, believes the reason for his popularity across the globe is the fact that what he expresses on screen is a universal emotion which everybody relates with. “One of the greatest learning for me has been to appreciate the sheer simplicity of humour and
entertainment
as a powerful tool for strengthening human bonds across all races, cultures,
nationalities and religions. I remember meeting fans in Germany one freezing
winter evening. None of them spoke a word of Hindi, they told me that they
didn’t even watch my films with subtitles yet they understood everything. “This
might have been the result of the melodrama of Bollywood plots but it was more
likely just the fact that shared emotions and the simple language of their
expression reaches across and binds people of all definitions. In fact, I can’t
emphasize enough, the importance of expression as a binding force for
compassion.
It is only by expressing our stories that we
create the ground for our life experience to be accepted and understood,” Shah
Rukh said in his acceptance speech. He received the merit during a graduation
ceremony for more than 350 students, held at the Barbican in London. Shah Rukh,
who lends his support to the welfare of the people through his non-profit
organisation, Meer Foundation, said hoarding one’s success makes them insecure.
“Hoarding everything, especially the fruits of success, only leads to a
narrowing of perspective, insecurity and the fear of losing power.
Giving
makes us alive with the possibility of others growing with us, sharing in our
work and enriching our lives with their own uniquely beautiful perspectives,”
he said. Apart from doing movies and getting many more achievements this is one
of the other sides of the superstar that no one has known yet. This turns out
to be the fact that not only playing such roles on the big screen he is more
than a superstar and something which makes him unique from others.
