True, Shah Rukh Khan is still King Khan and Akshay Kumar is fast catching up with him and yet so far from him. But here is why I think both of them are going wrong with the way they are perceiving themselves and their star status.
1. Soon after his back to back successes including his last film Singh is Kinng, Akshay Kumar called himself a star in a song in Chandni Chowk to China. The result: the film sank and created a record of sorts in the Flops department.
2. Soon after the mammoth success of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi for which the credit should largely go to director Aditya Chopra for going with such a unique script where the common man was made out to be the hero of the film, SRK did the worst. He eulogised himself as this mega star who is the hearthrob of millions in Billu Barber (cut to just ‘Billu’ after the barbers in Mumbai protested that it was an insult to them). The result: the film didn’t set the cash registers jingling.
THE ROAD AHEAD
Both Shah Rukh and Akshay would do well to concentrate on their acting skills and pick the right story to project themselves (either in the same light as before or different). But they should NOT do anything that is a stain on the modesty front.
Humility goes a long way… they must understand that by now that success can be short-lived. And yes, both must desist from doing stunts themselves – they could hurt no one but themselves and SRK is a veteran of that. After all, they are in their 40s and not really young as people like Aamir insist by torturing their bodies for getting six packs and eight packs. Just stay healthy, but don’t indulge in stunts… of any kind.