Compulsion to repeat?

BarBar = Repetition (in bangla/hindi) and that is how this hero and hero worship in Billu can be described. Yes repetition is the key word that dominates the entire global culture of celebrityhood - once you get success in anything you become the jack of everything and then your success is endlessly repeated. But that repetition is surely compelled by the fear of loosing one's position (read throne, for Shahrukh is the Bollywood badshah). Already Shahrukh is throwing frustrated gaze at his own vibrant youthful image of DDLJ in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi which 'he' 'himself' tries to enact and play in order to be heroic enough (textual unconscious!!!). Now Billu is a sultan's compulsive dream of pomp and grandeur. However as any Freudian dream analysis would show this compulsive frame of success only points towards its impossibility as you have already discussed that he is out of the Pepsi contract. But this film also attempts to sell a couple of things. First, it tries to sell a concocted image of (an)other Indian village to the western audience, particularly of Indian breed trying to remember their 'chere asha gram' (ref: Lara Dutta's blouse). Second, they are trying to sell the idea of celebrityhood in the Indian villages, which is definitely a fertile market for bollywood, given the fact that its popularity in select urban spaces has already got saturated. Related to this it should be remembered that the idea of a typical bollywood hero has faced severe challenges with recent experiments and success of movies which did well without any star actors. This may be because of the opening up of an international market for Indian films and vested interest of the urban elite (of both India and abroad) in Hindi movies who for last few decades focused their attention on Hollywood only. However the worst of the fears of Mr. Khan is confirmed when we measure his appearance before Irfan Khan. Perhaps more character actors like Irfan would make their appearances in the coming years so that we can do away with every kind of naive celebrityhood encouraging repetition (of both theme and treatment). Alas, inspite of every effort for asserting his celebrityhood (public euphoria regarding Shahir Khan's arrival in the village Budbuda) the moral of the film is that every celebrity is actually a common man and any common man (also 'common' actor) can do something worthy to be celebrated! Apart from repetition sentimentality was predominant in the film as it is the key to scintillate the middle-class audience for whom emotions are as impermanent and inconsequential as sentiments - something that can find an easy and immediate outlet. Perhaps as long as sentiments are there as in the last scene of the film making handkerchiefs soak with tears, the middleclass would never bother to think where a real barbar stands in the global circus of moneymaking and celebrityhood. They will barbar (repeatedly as in bangla/hindi) go to the wishfull reunion of the successful and established with someone like Billu (Irfan in the film) who dwells in the margins of the society to set themselves free from all responsibilities, spending tears for an on-screen Billu. Perhaps this is also a repeatition in order to realize the impossibility of a class-less society.