KUALA LUMPUR: Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan on became the first Indian movie star to be conferred a prestigious Malaysian.
Wearing a traditional black and gold Malay outfit (Baju Melayu and samping) and headgear, Khan received the title of “Datuk” (equivalent to British Knighthood) from the governor of Malaysia’s southern Malacca state.
Baju Melayu is similar to a kurta pajama, while ‘Samping’ is a piece of cloth men tie around the waist and which falls to the length of the long shirt.
The 43-year-old actor, who has a large fan base among the Malays, held the estimated 1,000 guests at the investiture spellbound as he received the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (DMSM), conferred on him and 76 others.
The actor kept waving to his fans as he was escorted into the hall. The Bollywood icon was the focus of attention as media and fans clicked away using cameras from their seats.
The actor will be referred to as Datuk Shah Rukh Khan in Malaysia and will be addressed as Datuk. Each Malaysian state chooses its own list of people to honour with “Datukship”. A majority of the awardees are local Malaysians who would have excelled in some area or are in the government.
Malacca authorities said Khan was given the title because some of his movies had been shot in the the historical state boosting tourism.
Khan shot a song for the movie ‘one two ka four’ in Malacca which was named as one of the heritage cities by Unesco a few months ago.
However, the decision to award Khan with the Datukship received a fair share of criticism across the country with local artists and public noting that the award could have been given to a local actor or artist.
