Why Shekhar Suman really rocks
Sitting one evening smoking cigarettes in his three-storied apartment, Shekhar Suman notices the glass panel that separates his study from the rest of the house. "It's a Tree of Life!" he exclaims mid-sentence, "I never noticed it before." Fascinated, Shekhar continues to look at the glass wall behind which the sun is setting giving it an almost surreal feel. Seconds tick and the silence continues. Almost a couple of minutes later, the actor breaks the silence himself and returns to the interrupted conversation. Perhaps it is this childlike fascination in Shekhar's personality that has kept the actor going for all these years.
From being a gawky 20-something from Patna, to flaunting his six-pack abs on the front page of a Mumbai newspaper, Shekhar has come a long way indeed. And now as he his son, Adhyayan begins his innings as an actor, life for Shekhar has come a full circle.
Years ago when television was not as it used to be, Shekhar was still a star of sorts, working in almost seven serials together at one point. He was one of the highest-paid actors then and almost two decades hence, he continues to remain one, a feat of sorts in an industry where rebirths and plastic surgeries are quite commonplace. "My biggest fear is that I will lose my focus," he said once in an interview. Needless to say, he hasn't. However his focus has never at any point constricted him or made him straitjacketed. He's moulded himself and practically evolved with the industry learning new tricks, trying new things and even unabashedly going in for a makeover. Try asking him if Shah Rukh's got anything to do with it and he'll point out, "I did it before him." And he isn't wrong. Shekhar's picture flaunting his six-pack abs had indeed appeared just weeks before Shah Rukh. Like most other actors, Shekhar hasn't exactly been pleased about comparisons. But unlike most, he makes no bones about showing his resentment.
Today he may be compared with Shah Rukh Khan. But a few years ago before Bachchan came on Kaun Banega Crorepati, Shekhar Suman was the 'Amitabh Bachchan of television'.
