"For now, I hope that you'll digest these everyday stories of women struggling to become themselves. That you'll try to understand why so many women find emotional comfort in an actor as they seek to realize their ambitions for a life of love and dignity. Because in telling me about when, how and why they turn to Shah Rukh, they're telling us about when, how and why the world breaks their heart."

I love being a part of fandoms. I love reading about the lives of people in fandoms. I love Shah Rukh Khan. Do you understand how perfectly I fall under this book's target audience?

Desperately Seeking Shahrukh is a book that details the lives of various women coming from different caste, class, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The common thread connecting all of them despite these monumental differences? They're all fans of the Indian mega superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

It's no secret that women of all generations fawn over the Bollywood actor popularly called 'The King of Romance.' I'm no different. Shah Rukh defined romance. Shah Rukh lived romance. Shah Rukh IS romance. He gave hope to millions of women around the country that one day, they would find a man like him - A man who's respectful, charming, and head over heels for his woman.

All the women in this book, in conversations with the author spanning years, talk about battling patriarchy, finding love, and making a name for themselves, all in connection with the actor who inspired them. The author, an economist, uses facts and figures along with these stories to highlight the inequality amongst women and men in both the economic and the social spheres of Indian day-to-day life. The results, although not surprising, still make you stop and ponder. India still has leagues to go to achieve gender equality. Women are the minority's minority - The oppressed man takes out his anger on the women in his household; The urban man may advocate for equality, but still looks for a "homely" woman who will forego her career to settle down with him.

In these circumstances, women turn to their fandoms to retain their individualism and sense of self. Fandoms are a safe space for many to explore their own sexualities, aspirations, likes and dislikes. The author brilliantly captures the lives of the women who are trying to make sense of the outside world by engaging in fandom behaviour. Their disappointment with their everyday lives is washed away by listening to Shah Rukh's songs and watching his movies. Their idol inspires them and gives them hope to keep going.

I hope that you all have a Shah Rukh in your own lives, too. Especially considering the state of the world nowadays.