Shah Rukh Khan – the name is sound and down to the earth. Shah Rukh Khan popularly known as SRK hardly needs any introduction at least in this sub-continent. He is one of the biggest heartthrobs of not only million of Indians but also of his fan following throughout the world. Khan grew up in Delhi and his interests in acting cultivated during his school days. Although today he is one of the most sought after actors in Bollywood, has numerous best actor awards, and has branched out into film production and television presenting as well but his early life was not smooth one. SRK is one of the few persons who made their won way and inspires millions to run after their dreams. During the release period of his most ambitious Sci-Fic movie Ra.One, in an interview he quoted that people takes risk in two times of his life- first when he has nothing and second when ha everything has. Very true ….. SRK took risk at his early career when a new comer portrayed the character of anti hero in “Darr” (when he has nothing) and then “Ra.One” (when he has everything). And today SRK is such a name that doesn’t indicate a person; it means something more than a person. The way he nurse his dreams and cultivate himself to reach the highest spectrum of success and achievement inspire me to write this note.
For last few days I am working on personal branding and its mechanisms. The more I go in-depth of this concept the more I am realizing the need of understanding it through analyzing the work and life of global public figures. And I took the case of SRK for a justified reason. According to Dan Schawbel, “Personal branding describes the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leverage it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility advance their careers and build self-confidence.”
The 5 B’s of personal branding and SRK
To be specific I am going to the elements that reflect or represent a person as a brand. There are 5 B’s that collectively present a personal brand. In the following discussion I will try to incorporate the elements of brand SRK into these 5 B’s.
|
Sl |
B’s |
How brand SRK deals with it? |
| 1 | Be Ubiquitous: Create multiple streams of you | Unquestionably SRK has multiple streams inside him. Starting as TV actor, then film star (portrayed almost every types of character from anti-hero to super hero), producer, program presenter, TV host, brand ambassador (from product to state), IPL Cricket team owner, real estate business investor and many more. |
| 2 | Be Social: Effective manage tour “social systems” | Who can be a better social communicator than SRK. Maintain a regular interaction with media, colleagues, parties & events, social networking. Despite of being such a super star he is social enough grasp every social events and likes. |
| 3 | Be Interesting: Write, photograph, share, gives | SRK probably the most searched star in the world. Whatever he does become news….. he writes, talks, funs, shares, dance and gives immense pleasure to his fans and followers. |
| 4 | Be Remarkable: Do something worthy of a remark | Is it necessary to say anything about the remark-ability of the work SRK does? Highest number of awards, recognition, trade-mark characters, taking Bollywood globally and so on…. |
| 5 | Be Yourself: Let your personality shine through | SRK shines with his own stand and own caliber. He never means to be someone else…. SRK is SRK all of his way. |
The 5 P’s of personal branding and SRK
Now let show how SRK is brand-SRK today. Nothing comes by itself to his life; he is not a brand by his family-succession. SRK is now brand-SRK by his own dedication and determination for works and beyond. The following table will present a brief analysis of his way to be someone worthwhile to be referred.
| Sl | P’s | What does it mean? | How SRK deals with it? |
| 1 | Purpose | Personal branding lets you control how other people perceive you… You’re telling them what you stand for… When someone hears your name, what do you want them to think? | When we hear the name SRK we imagine a person who is winning millions hearts by his open arms…. We visualize a person after whom millions are crashing with love and belongingness…. that what SRK stands for. |
| 2 | Proposition | Your Proposition is Your Core Competency. You’ve Got to Know Yourself to Grow Yourself. | The proposition hold by SRK is the determination for work and life. He knows the best what he supposes to be and what he have to do for that. |
| 3 | Packaging | It includes Posture, Facial Expression, Gestures, Clothing, Hygienic | it necessary to say the packaging of SRK? How he looks and how dressed to express what he is? I think not!!!!!! |
| 4 | People | Nothing the slightest bit amazing has ever been done in isolation. | Individual competitiveness is what you know and your network is your net worth. SRK is among those who are connected with the maximum numbers of people through-out the world. His presence in social networking makes him one of the most visible persons of the planet. |
| 5 | Perseverance | There is a very, very, very fine line between success and failure …. it is about being constantly hammered and coming back from the hard times and low moments.
Clarity (about who you are and who you are not) Consistency (in your message about who you are) Constancy (continual visibility to your target audience). |
Clarity: SRK is a person who always can shape his personality. He clearly knows who he is and what he is?
Consistency: A consistent performer and a man of delicious success recipe for last 20 years!! Constancy: Yes…. he is the most visible super star who always keep connections with his audiences. |
A lot more can be written….. a lot more words can be said, but for a brand like SRK words are just not enough. I can remember long ago SRK twitted, “Don’t walk as you rule the world, walk as you don’t care who rule the world.” Yes sir being a king from nothing is not so easy but you made it, that why you are king of hearts.
Hope will write something more on brand SRK next time. Till then be safe, be calm, be happy and keep smiling.
iammoulude 
an impressive article about an impressive personality. good work and keep it up.
Posted by Hassan Mahmud | August 23, 2013, 6:22 pmyes off course. indeed he is impressive and influential. thank you for comment.
Posted by Md. Moulude Hossain | August 23, 2013, 6:23 pmIt’s a huge analysis ……………thank u sir … Moulude
Posted by Touhide | November 3, 2013, 10:29 pmVery nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really
enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I
hope you write again very soon!
Posted by routers | July 18, 2014, 9:49 amThank you very much. Yes I will write very soon.
Posted by iamdmoulude | July 18, 2014, 9:56 amShahrukh khan won millions of hearts, not only in this nation but worldwide! Whatever he achieved was due to his own hardwork without any alliances. He has reached so far, but somewhere during the past few years his bollywood career has seemed to get pretty dull but ofcourse he is the one who can set the standard of stardum in BOLLYWOOD!
Posted by Abhinash Koiar | October 15, 2014, 8:47 pmIts not only the stardam or his acting ability, there are certain other personality traits that make him a figure to follow. His charm and energy is unprecedented which makes him a star with universal appeal.
Posted by Sinthia Rahman | December 25, 2015, 6:13 pmAlso his ability to connect with fans and maintaining a friendly appearance in public makes a star with charismatic personality.
Posted by Sadrul Islam | January 1, 2016, 8:16 pmShahrukh Khan is someone whise stardom peaked because he always took up challenges and didn’t shy away from doing something different. He had been no.1 for more than a decade. He had said in one his interviews that he has received much more than he could have ever dreamt of…be it fame, love, money, recognitions etc…so he wants to give back to the industry which has given him so much. And I believe he will make his comeback big way.
Posted by Ferdous Al Masud | November 29, 2014, 8:44 pmSRK needs to apply his considerable intelligence to selecting good scripts and meaningful roles. Perhaps his best is yet to come. He may never recapture the fan following of his youth; but I would like him to do serious and meaningful cinema without worrying about the Lowest Common Denominator film-goer.
Posted by Noushin Sultana | November 29, 2015, 8:42 pmI think SRK Could have done the impossible in previous decade only… When Salman & Aamir were not big in this game… but Hrithik put a whole lot of dent for him & he couldn’t go beyond Hrithik & think big… however for this particular context I think yes he is one of the best examples of personal brand.
Posted by Touhid Saifullah | December 10, 2015, 8:40 pmShahrukh khan has did and said many bad stuff about the other actors which first no one was aware about but when Shahrukh got exposed everyone started hating him and slowly is trying to get back his reputation but between all of this Salman Khan is giving hits and is making to the top. That’s a bad imaginary reflection of SRK as a person.
Posted by Zahidur Rahman Mujib | January 6, 2016, 3:37 pmMost will remember him for his most famous acts as a lover-boy, notably in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, but I would never forget the chills that made me shivers when I watched him in Darr (Fear) as a disturbed young man, an obsessive stalker, who played the game of ‘she loves me, she loves me not’ whilst walking on the ledge of a tall building. Or I’d never forget how in Asoka he killed his half-brother to be the emperor and then embarked a ruthless territorial expansion across India.
However, it seems that most of his attempts to get out of his lover-boy status the likes of Raj-Rahul (DDLJ and KKHH respectively) were considered a failure as audience around the world loved him too much to let him be anyone else but those characters. Pity, as SRK himself said,
“Cinema is a mishran (mixture) of Laksmi (the goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (the goddess of knowledge). I’ve always gone for Saraswati and Laksmi has followed. I may be stubborn and an idiot, but it works for me. I know this is business but I will always dole out art.”
Posted by Miftaul Hasan | May 19, 2016, 6:41 pmI discovered Shah Rukh Khan before I understood his stature in the global Indian culture. But after watching several of his films I realized he is in a class by himself.
Posted by Ferdous Hasan | May 27, 2016, 4:45 pmEnter Shah Rukh Khan who came from a humble background to rise to the top of Bollywood. A Muslim boy who came a superstar in Hindu movies. His passion for movies and ambition continue to drive him. Neither terrorists, mobsters, or box office flops have stopped him. Indeed this makes his a unique brand persona that stand above all.
Posted by Bilob Saha | June 6, 2016, 8:48 pmI completely agree with you Mr. Biplob. His story and glory is an inspiring write-up thousands like me! I hope he will keep up the good work.
Posted by Saiful Islam Sagor | June 30, 2016, 6:59 pmEven though Shah Rukh Khan’s brand value is going down, yet there are brands that want to associate with the actor. For instance, ICICI Bank, which has roped in Khan for the advertisement of its digital banking platform for MSMEs called InstaBIZ. However, it not denying fact anymore that this is now high time for him to repair and revamp the brand image of SRK.
Posted by Rahman Saifullah | June 21, 2018, 4:49 pmThe biggest weakness and strength of SRK was that he was an entertainer and not an actor. He would ham and add unnecessary style and gloss to make himself look cool and unique but was unwilling to “act” the role. SRK was never known for his dashing looks. He had a boy next door look with a lot of charm which was very endearing to the romance deprived Indian Females and for the frustrated and desperate Indian Male, he was a confirmation that looks was not important but style and attitude would get any girl impressed.
Posted by Nazmul Hasan Pabel | September 26, 2018, 5:18 pmBrand Shah Rukh Khan is an evergreen ripple effect of the decades he has spent entertaining the people world over. May it be making audiences cry buckets with Kal Ho Na Ho or get grooving in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. He taught people romance with Veer Zaara and gave fitness aspirations with Om Shanti Om. Who can ever forget the leadership lessons he disseminated with Chak De India!
Posted by Farzana Hoque Bithi | March 19, 2019, 2:43 pmActually for a movie star whatever you say, at the end of the the image depend on the box office numbers. As per the Celebrity Endorsement Report by media research agency TAM, Shah Rukh Khan had an average visibility of around 7 hours per day on television for the period of January-June 2019. In contrast, Akshay Kumar, a contemporary of Khan, is the most visible celebrity on television with an average visibility of 17 hours per day.
Shah Rukh Khan was ranked seven on the list; MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt, all ranked higher with visibility ranging from 14-10 hours per day. This indicates the decrease in the brand value of SRK.
Posted by Mijanur Rahman Oni | December 20, 2019, 7:41 pmI do completely agree with you. The biggest factor contributed for a movie star brand value is the box office. He need to coutious about his choice of script otherwise it will be the dead end!
Posted by Md. Moulude Hossain | June 8, 2020, 7:57 pm