Shah Rukh Khan 2.0: from the king of romance to king of content?

Actor Shah Rukh Khan's recent offering, Fan, has garnered mixed reviews from critics. While the intention of the film was praised, the YRF entertainer's slow pace became the moot point.

However, amid all such discussion, one thing was acknowledged and that is SRK has offered something quite unconventional from what we or 'his' ardent fans associate him with -- romance, songs, and OTT drama. Not that his films with songs and dramatised plot are not entertaining (we do love DDLJ, My Name Is Khan and Chak De!), but most of us needed a Fan after Happy New Year and Dilwale.

And seems like this wave of comparatively meaningful cinema by Shah Rukh Khan is here to stay. If you look at SRK's upcoming films, you can expect high quality cinema from the superstar.

Shah Rukh's next film is Raees, which has him playing a Gujarati don. The movie's teaser is out and even though SRK will be playing a character with shades of grey, you will not call it just another SRK film.

The actor's next two films are with Anand L Rai and Gauri Shinde -- two filmmakers who are famous for marrying content with commerce in their films.

Shah Rukh will be playing a little person in Rai's next while Shinde's film, Dear Zindagi, is about breaking stereotypes around women.

And one will see King Khan back with YRF in Aditya Chopra's untitled post Befikre. SRK himself confirmed the news and mentioned that the film would require him to work on his character for at least two months. He said:

"Aditya Chopra has a plan to do a film with me. I think I will start shooting from Aditya's next film by end of 2017. All he has told me is the fact that is a very big project and I might have to sit for two months with Adi to prepare for the character. He told me that the shooting will be wrapped up in three months, but I will have to work with him on characters for two months prior to shooting for the film. I have no idea what he is making, but he has just asked me to keep my dates free next year. He has been planning one film with me after Befikre."

While the actor's choice of films definitely seem rather hatke from his previous offerings, one wonders what set of this trend. And there could be many:

1. As one of Hindi cinema's biggest superstars, it could be his prerogative to keep Bollywood's bar high or at least at par with the kind of content-based films other film industries boast of.

2. SRK is at that stage in his career where he can take up or refuse any kind film. He could be looking at it as a wise decision to work in films which are little more inclined towards content than business.

3. Shah Rukh Khan is not just an actor but a brand in the industry; any project he takes up is going to garner intense limelight. He could be looking at it as a way to utilise this stardom in cinema to trigger change in the society or at least start a conversation about the change required.

4. Maybe, the 50-year-old actor decided that the time is right for him to have content-rich movies to his credit?