“Wise men learn many things from their enemies”—Aristophanes
They were together, thick as a wall—but then came a moment and broke what they stood for long. This is a snapshot of what Bollywood's two most powerful celebrities shared until recently. Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, when talked about in the same breath, could never be written on the same page, till destiny played its card.
Recently, the nation witnessed how Salman solemnised the grand wedding of his younger sister Arpita Khan at the Royal Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad. From Indian cinema's A-listers to political bigwigs—the entire 'creamy' layer was invited!
But most certainly, what grabbed the already popping eyeballs, almost the minute it went viral, was the longest SRK-Salman hug in history. The two, who were visibly happy and light-hearted met and greeted each other amidst flashing light bulbs and then hugged like two long lost brothers.
Any Salman or Shah Rukh Khan fan would have died that very moment, and who would not? It was the most 'iconic' moment of these two celebs together that we have seen in ages. The fact that it wasn't limited to just a 'long hug', made journos write at length about their camaraderie. They walked hand-in-hand along with the bride to click pictures, braved the paparazzi frenzy and sailed through it all quite smoothly, giving 'us' many delightful 'Karan-Arjun' moments.
However, after SRK made his thunderous presence felt at Arpita's 'sangeet' ceremony, there was a slight lull when he was not seen at the wedding function at Falaknuma Palace. But, like they say—there is always room for more. Today happens to be Arpita's reception ceremony, where the who's who of B-Town are likely to make their presence felt.
So, we might actually see SRK and Salman together once again. But the question is why this madness whenever these two Khans cross paths? The headlines splashed everywhere on November 16, 2014 were the likes of 'Shah Rukh Khan patches up with Salman Khan at Arpita's sangeet'.
Anxiety around the strenuous relationship existing between these two Khans stems from an incident six years ago when actress Katrina Kaif celebrated her birthday and the big Khan fight took place.
Reasons best known to them, Bhai and Badshah chose not to see eye-to-eye for the longest time since then. However, like they say - 'Time changes and so do people'. The best of friends turned enemies turned back to friends only recently. The first headline was made when Salman hugged Shah Rukh at Baba Siddiqui's Iftar party in 2013, then they followed suit this year as well.
Every national channel in the country had SRK-Salman hug and patch-up story running as one of the headlines. Reason? Well, perhaps if these two Khans are there, any news is good news. You don't really need to question why their personal equation is a national issue.
The fact is that these two are loved so much by their fans and followers in India and abroad, that there is a constant need and unspoken desire of many to see them together, even if it is for a wedding or an Iftar party.
Going by their track record and current bonhomie, what if they actually decide to stun everyone and work together in a movie? We have witnessed Diwali and Eid fireworks so far. How about Shah Rukh-Salman's Rs 1000 crore 'patakhas' hitting jackpot at the Box Office windows?