Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh: Who can replace Shahrukh Khan as the King of Romance?

Baadshah Shahrukh Khan refuses to be typecast as THE romantic hero of B-town. And while that fact did break our collective heart, we realised that finding a suitable replacement was the only and best possible option left to us now

Recently we had Shahrukh Khan getting miffed over the one fact that all his fans took for granted – he is undoubtedly the King of Romance! He set the record straight, perhaps for the first time in his life in Bollywood by saying, “I hated to be (called) just the King of Romance.” “Nahiiiin,” many screamed, exactly like Kirron Kher did in Om Shanti Om. But alas, the Baadshah said it and that left us with no choice but to accept the bitter truth.
So now there’s a vacant slot in the Bollywood pantheon for a future (Now? No, not yet, no!) King of Romance. And it’s sad to let it remain so painfully empty, no? So we made a feeble but meaningful attempt at filling this space with other B-towners – Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Imran Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Arjun Rampal – that we think will be able to deliver the perfect SRK-ishtyle punch. And for that it’s necessary for the to-be King of Romance to have certain physical qualities that would help ease the aching emptiness Mr Khan will leave behind.


The open-armed gesture – Ranbir Kapoor
‘That’s a trademark!’ die-hard SRK fans might protest and even take to the streets in retaliation. But hey, if Shahrukh is not in the mood to play the mushy King we might as well try and find a substitute…and pronto! So in comes Ranbir Kapoor. And after watching him stand in a somewhat similar way in Rockstar, we sure think he could do justice to this trait. RK looks almost-perfect here, doesn’t he?

That intense frowny-eyebrow look – Ranveer Singh
When Shahrukh sends out that totally serious look while mouthing those intensely romantic dialogues, girls swoon, almost drop to their knees and agree to whatever the soon to be ex-King of Romance says. Maybe Ranveer wouldn’t be as effective here, but we’re sure he’ll grow better with practice. But c’mon, this is something that the Ladies Vs Ricky Behl actor can try!


Tears that fall freely when hurt – Shahid Kapoor
Oh c’mon, you can’t deny that the Baadshah is and was a crybaby. And yeah, we know he fought those drops back, bit his lower lip till it turned blue, looked away and did whatever he could to hide his pain, only so that we would wait to see the salty tears going drip-drip-drip a few moments later. So who could take that legacy ahead? Shahid Kapoor, perhaps? The scene in Shikhar where Sasha sobs like a baby, his emotional breakdown in Jab We Met, tearful self-realisation in Badmaash Company… the list is long, so tell us that this kid can be a tearful wonder a la Shahrukh Khan, do!


The stuttering – Imran Khan
Agreed that no one can say KKKKiran like Shahrukh did in Darr. But Imran Khan can try. And we say this only after seeing this cute Khan’s performance in Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu. Remember the way he st..st..stammered when he got nervous? And he might nail the art if his perfectionist maamu Aamir Khan tutors him. Wink, wink.


 Shaking a sweaty head in slo-mo – Arjun Rampal
Well, this one’s tough. Imagine making the stinky sweat beads look oh-so-romantic as they fly off your head when you shake it. But Shahrukh did. And it’s only fair to expect the same from the next King Of Romance, no? But who – and we strain our vision as we ask – could do it right? Arjun Rampal, maybe? Okay, we haven’t seen him doing it very convincingly yet, we know. But hey, he has those silky locks in place. And if the sweat is replaced with perfumed water that wets his head, he might just get it right when does ‘the act’. Hai na?.