SRK Fandom Awards takes over Twitter on Filmfare night

The atmosphere was pleasant. The stage had been set. The guests were pouring in colossal numbers. The arrangements were fitting and startling. There were smiles everywhere. It was an amalgam of varied but beautiful emotions – the nominees were nervous, the organizers were buoyant, the results were ready and the audience was looking forward to a great day full of spectacular fun and celebrations, and yet, there was something that everyone had in common –  the excitement of attending an award function. The description surely builds a panorama for a huge award function that happened someday. Twist in the plot? The award function happened on Twitter! Need a ‘David Fincher’ twist? Aforementioned is an account of the fandom awards organized by SRK Universe, Mr Shah Rukh Khan’s fan-universe.

The second annual SRK Fandom awards took place on Twitter on the 8th of February, 2015. They were conducted in the spirit of celebration of the boundless love SRK’s fans have for him. These awards were conducted in a completely professional manner. A number of categories were designed based on what the fans do round-the-year. Fans were asked to put up the Twitter handles of people who they thought were deserving in diverse categories. Post the deadline, the most supported names were put up as nominees in the respective categories. A voting session was shepherded and all the fans were asked to cast their votes to one candidate from each category. The voting session lasted for 10 days, and utmost care was taken to ensure the fairness of the voting procedure. The fans’ mandate was then announced on the night of the awards, two days later. The categories weren’t the same as they were in the preceding award function that took place last year, as some categories were skipped, and a few more were added. Interestingly, the categories for which the voting took place were also suggested by the fans themselves, last December, giving it a complete democratic feel: ‘by the fans, for the fans, of the fans!’

SRK Universe has always tried to be creative, innovative and path-breaking in its undertaking. Along with performing the expected duty of providing news and updates about Shah Rukh Khan’s professional and social life, Universe (as it is popularly known) has always tried to set new milestones. From building a website that brings the entire SRK-ism under one roof, to devising full-fledged strategies for the promotions of upcoming SRK movies, to conducting Twitter contests every once in a while, to helping fans’ dreams turn into reality, Universe has been an active catalyst in the increased positivity, order and synchronisation amongst the SRK fans on social media and also elsewhere. Universe perfectly exhibits what SRK stands for, and that is precisely why, Universe is so close and endearing to every single SRK-ian. It has sure bridged the gap between the star and his fans. And with the SRK Fandom awards, the whiz kids at Universe have tried their hand at something extraordinary. How?
We’re all fans of someone. I am a fan of Shah Rukh Khan. You might be a fan of someone else. But the essence, the underlying emotion remains the same— of being fans. And as fans, we are always fond of award functions that our idol attends. The stars are together, they interact, pull each other’s legs and have a great time in the end. Regardless of how frantically a fan wants to, he/she can rarely attend such functions. And that is specifically why, the Fandom awards are something quite amazing. Thanks to these awards, the ‘fans’ get to be the ‘stars’ at least for a day, they get to feel how it feels being a star, how it feels to have the attention of hundreds as you spill words out of your mouth and how it feels to get nominated and compete for an award. The fans get to feel special, they get to think of themselves of someone special, and that is the entire motive behind the Fandom awards.

Even though these awards were driven by fun, enjoyment and celebration, Universe has organized them in the most authentic way possible. Keeping in mind their management experiences of previous year, they made sure that this year’s award ceremony was bigger, grander and better. With the aim to keep the voting procedure and the results as transparent as possible, screenshots of the poll results with analysis of vote shares were posted along with the name of the respective category’s winner. Though the award ceremony was at 7pm IST, there was a red carpet event all day long. Numerous subordinates of the SRK Universe, such as Team SRKUniverse and all the international branches of SRK Universe were the paparazzi for this event. All those tweeting with “SRK Universe Fandom Awards 2014” were the guests at the function and an attempt was made to interview most of them, acquiring their views about the whole idea of these awards, the categories, the probable winners, and the entire experience of attending the function on Twitter! The guests were asked to tweet pictures of their apparels and fun contests were conducted all day long. Fans actively participated in all the activities and enjoyed themselves.

The main event, the gist of it all, was of course the peak of the excitement and glee. All the nominees were introduced with the help of creative GIFs that were designed individually for each nominee in accordance to their idiosyncrasies. The hosting was full of jokes and witty comments that tickled everyone’s funny bones. The highlight was obviously the comic segment that made almost every single guest roll in the aisles with laughter. There was also a catering team that served virtual cuisine by posting pictures of various delicious delicacies from different countries and cultures. Though the winners did not get any ‘black ladies,’ (we mean trophies, to avoid any possible confusions, misinterpretations and any future censorship demands,) they sure got four digit online shopping vouchers and certificates, all sponsored by Universe’s very own head-of-the-family. There are also plans to conduct these awards not just on Twitter, but in real if an appropriate sponsor is found. If not, it hardly matters, for the Universe doesn’t stop loving fellow fans.

Top Twitter Trend in India

People might find this pointless or whatever other negative adjective they would like to attach the awards with, but the truth is that the entire ceremony was conceptualized for the fans to have fun. If the categories in this award function had names that went like ‘Drama King/Queen, Comedy King/Queen, Troller and Jasoos,’ one can imagine the amusement and fun experienced by the fans while actually attending the ceremony. The awards weren’t conducted as some lucrative or profitable ventures; they were given away with only one sole motive— to make the fans happy, to spread joy in the fandom, to proliferate the spirit of ‘SRK-ism,’ to make everyone forget their differences and bring them closer, and to celebrate the notion of being fans. And in this endeavour of theirs, they have not just succeeded, but annihilated the very parameters in which success is measured in. For this ground-breaking and pioneering idea, and the continued efforts to turn it successful, the Award goes to none-other-than SRK Universe for being the best Fan organization in the entire ‘Universe!’

PS: There was also a ‘real’ award function (Filmfare Awards) telecasted the same night, and ‘SRK Fandom Awards 2014,’ a virtual, fan based award show ended up trending above it. Moral of the story? Don’t underestimate the power of a common fan!

@SRKUniverse thank you for all the love

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) February 8, 2015

Article by @SRKUniverse – The most popular Shah Rukh Khan Fan Club on the internet.