People think Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan is a huge blockbuster and it is one of the best films of the actor. But there was this flick in 2002 that might be considered SRK’s best movie but unfortunately went underrated and unrecognized.
Better than Pathaan
Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan is a huge blockbuster. Even after 20 days in the theatre, the film continues to break records. It has now surpassed the Rs 950-crore mark globally and is eyeing the Rs 500-crore mark at the domestic box office collection. Pathaan was released on January 25, 2023, and has managed to break several records in Hindi cinema.
When the whole world is praising SRK for Pathaan’s massive success, there were some of his films in the past that still remain heavily underrated and unrecognized.
One such film is Shakti: The Power, a 2002 film directed by Krishna Vamsi. This film was inspired by the Telugu blockbuster Anthapuram helmed by the same director.
Anthapuram was inspired by the 1991 American film Not Without My Daughter and Krishna Vamsi did a brilliant job of setting the story in a desi atmosphere.
Shakti: The Power revolves around the feudal system, sexual oppression, and toxic masculinity that was, and is still dominant in our society.
The film talks about a man named Shekhar who returns from Canada with his wife and kids upon knowing that his family is in danger, only to find that deadly unusual trouble awaits them.
In this film, Nana Patekar, Karishma Kapoor, and Sanjay Kapoor played key roles in the film while Prakash Raj and Vijay Raz were in supporting roles, and everyone’s performance was mind-blowing.
One who impressed the most in the film was Nana Patekar, who just brings fear each time he appears on the screen. He just looks too threateningly good in the role of Narasimha, who can go to any level to protect his people and family.
Vamsi (the writer) has shown Narasimha as the model of toxic masculinity and a hardcore conservative, who will just not spare his enemies.
SRK’s role in Shakti: The Power
Shakti: The Power gets a lively feeling when Shah Rukh Khan comes in after the first half as the savior of Karishma and his son. SRK plays a role of a small thief and a bum who has only one aim in life; to earn money and shift to Dubai, so that he can make more cash.
This job was never easy for Shah Rukh Khan as this particular role was a very different kind of role back then and it was also reported that he did the film only because of his utter respect for Sridevi as Boney Kapoor was producing the film.
Earlier, it was Naseeruddin Shah who was approached for the role but due to some differences with the makers he couldn’t do the film, and later, Nana Patekar was roped in as Narasimha.
Shakti: The Power is assumably the best film of Shah Rukh Khan because of the role he picked, and the iconic clash of SRK and Nana, was a treat to watch.
Shakti: The Power is not just a film, but also a social film on problematic things like male chauvinism and toxic masculinity that stays in society. Source: MensXP
