Why Harry Styles is the hero of our times

He is not a being with superhuman powers. A member of one of the most stratospheric boybands in history, his life was laid bare to every pair of willing eyes. His fans were crazy when it came to showing devotion, and equally crazy were his haters while showering their contempt.

His entire existence was in the hands of glamour, media and millions of strangers from when he was a wee boy of sixteen. Then, like a great wave crestfallen, his band went into an infinite hiatus. The sighs of fans worldwide and their unwavering love did not prove to be enough to glue the band together. Standing at a cul-de-sac, he had two options: fight or flight. One Direction, the band, broke records as if it had been an unruly child frisbeeing delicate porcelain plates. It created sensations unforeseen.

Alone, what could he do? The expectations from him kissed the sky and meeting them seemed impossible. Erasing everything he had ever known, shedding his old skin that was created for him, not letting the fear of unacceptance or the exigency of conformity muddle him, his phoenix-like rebirth was golden. Harry Edward Styles himself is now breaking records left and right.

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This Grammy winning superstar is however way more than what meets the eye, and this journey to become more was uneven and strewn with difficulties. The post-band Harry emerged as a breath of the freshest air. "Bring back manly men" was the initial response from many when he first blessed our eyes by valiantly donning gowns and dresses. But Harry's softly gripping rather than bellicose refusal to be pigeonholed discarded the existence of haters altogether.

Notwithstanding the harshness of the narrow-minded, he keeps on preaching that our fleeting lives demand us to be unabashedly free. As mementos reminding us to revere our truest versions, Harry's nails are forever seen painted with startling colours. This Harry cries on stage to exemplify those emotions are real and expressing them is human. Love on Tour concerts (aptly named) are outlets for him to crochet elaborate displays that aggrandise individuality, inclusivity and positive self-expression. Albeit his fan base was already humungous owing to his One Direction days, the flock of his supporters is now growing unbounded, and why wouldn't it? This man sings about treating people with kindness; his songs are always very personal, be it in the form of adding a voicemail from his bygone lover or his goddaughter, by singing for a completely ordinary girl with whom he fell in love once or by the outright acceptance of his defencelessness in the song Falling.

Revelling in the freedom of realising who we are is what Harry promulgates. He has culminated into this demigod-like stature where his actions resonate with everyone in the sense that they provide ways to look at things anew. There's no denying the fact that the credo followed and preached by Harry is hemmed with originality and a unique unfathomable quality that assures everything will be alright as long as we respect ourselves. Swimming gracefully in uncharted waters, be it through acting in movies or bringing out a makeup line, he goads us to surpass mediocrity by embracing challenges and surprises. Coming back stronger than a nineties trend, heralding good tidings of comfort and joy, Harry Styles now stands as our cape-less superhero.

Mastura wallows in despair because she can never be friends with River Phoenix. Console her at choudhurymasturamahbub@gmail.com