Shah Rukh Khan was conferred with Datuk Title in Malacca and the local newspapers screamed, “ Shah Rukh is Ours.”

With the title akin to British knighthood, Malaysia could claim “personal ownership of a global product from India, the inestimable Datuk Shah Rukh Khan,” the prestigious New Straits Times said.

Nursing an arm injured during a film shoot last Friday, Shah Rukh flew in Saturday on a brief visit to Malacca. He is the first foreign actor to receive the award and took a rickshaw ride through Malacca, winning the hearts of the people.

The newspaper ridiculed critics at home, particularly some local artistes, who asked “what has he done that we have not?” saying the award to Khan had “evoked rather more bluster than it warranted.”

“Those tasting sour grapes for being overlooked or ignored by such honours should wash their mouths out with soap. Certainly, these medals are intended as tokens of a state’s appreciation for services rendered. In this case, the service rendered was simply in being adored.”

Justifying the decision of the Malacca state to confer the award on Shah Rukh Khan, the editorial said: “Sadly for them, the answer is not what Shah Rukh has done but who he is. And who he is, is not just a fabulously successful 43-year-old film star with global recognition and vast masses of devoted fans”.

The paper claimed that Malacca, from Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob (the royal head of state) down, is enraptured by Shah Rukh Khan and unashamed to admit it. The award was an excuse to show it.”

“As the star’s subsequent day-trip around town displayed, this was not so much a case of presenting the state’s attractions to him as ensconcing him among them,” It said.

Shah Rukh and other Bollywood stars, as also those from the Tamil cinema are immensely popular in Malaysia.

The popularity goes beyond the estimated 2.5 million ethnic Indians who form eight percent of Malaysia’s 28 million population.
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