Shah Rukh Khan’s big birthday

It was frenzy at Shah Rukh Khan’s house even before the clock struck 12 on his birthday, when fans of the star travelled across the globe to get a glimpse of their favourite actor. Members of two fan clubs — Chennai fan club SRKChennaiFC and SRKUniverse — also showed up in large numbers.

In fact, SRK Chennai started their party by 6 pm, with fans dancing to songs from SRK films. Co-founders Sudhir Kothari from Chennai and Rakshit Shah from Mumbai even got T-shirts and banners to them, and also provided them with dinner before they went off to Khan’s abode. “There are fans from the US, UK, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, China, Hong Kong, Peru and Bolivia among other countries besides different parts of India,” says Rakshit.

And while Mumbai faced sudden heavy rains, the fans were not deterred from celebrating. The crowd moved from hundreds to thousands in number, with some space left for the road traffic outside Mannat. When the rain subsided, SRK came out to his balcony and thanked his fans, causing uproarious cheering and applause. However, the actor — who always meets the media on his birthday, cuts a cake and makes announcements for his next films — did not keep up to that tradition this year.

“Obviously it is not possible for him to come out and meet everyone, but this is fine for us,” says Nishant who has travelled from Kolhapur.

Meanwhile, the fan clubs also conduct charity activities in SRK’s name. “We have charity activities on behalf of Shah Rukh sir throughout the year. Recently we distributed water across Tamil Nadu when we faced a drought-like situation,” Perambur-based Kothari reveals. Rakshit, who looks after the  social media handle, mobilises resources that are needed for the charity work.

There are charity events taking place, like healthcare drives at 14 tribal villages at Maharashtra and a huge health check-up camp.