King Khan turns 41

He is ‘The Badshah’ of Bollywood, the King Khan. In a career spanning over 14 years, he has weaved magic on screen. He is known as the natural charmer. His popularity in the country and overseas has touched magical heights. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Shahrukh Khan is the most popular actor of Indian cinema (ever since its inception) second only to the ‘Shehanshah’ (Amitabh Bachchan) himself. The most loved actor ‘turned 41’ on November 02, without showing any signs or intentions of slowing down. He is on a roll……….He was born in 1965 in New Delhi in a Pathan family. He did his schooling from St. Columba`s School and got a Bachelors degree from Hansraj College. He later completed Masters in Mass Communications from Centre for Mass Communication, Jamia Milia Islamia. He fell in love with Delhi girl Gauri Chibba and after years of courtship married her. Khan was interested in theatre and joined the group headed by none other than Barry John that actually prepared him for something big in future. Passionate as he had always been about everything in life, he decided to get into acting seriously. He started his careeer appearing in various televion series and developed an instant rapport with the audience. He became hot property among girls after his role of ‘Abhimanyu’ in war drama series ‘Fauji’ in 1988. He also worked in Aziz Mirza’s ‘Circus’ and emotional drama series based on 1947 Indo-Pak partition ‘Dil Dariya’.

Journey to stardom Shahrukh always believed in his mother’s words that he was destined to make it big. As he was thinking the next move, his TV stint caught the attention of Hema Malini who was looking for a new face for her directorial film debut in Dil Aashna Hai. However he made his debut in in 1992 film Deewana along with the late Divya Bharti and Rishi Kapoor which was a big hit. The same year he appeared in films such as Chamatkar and the controversial art film Maya Memsaab. He was also appreciated for his roles in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (with Juhi Chawla, who later became his life long friend). The film brought him great deal of attention from popular Bollywood camps like Chopras. In 1993, he drove the entire nation crazy through his sizzling performance in negative roles in Baazigar (as an anti-hero and murderer) and Darr (as an obsessed lover) which became huge hits at the box office and shot him to stardom. He missed out on the Filmfare Best Actor Award in a negative role for Darr, but made up by winning his first of six Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role in Baazigar, beating off strong competition from Sanjay Dutt for his role in Khalnayak. This was followed by Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, which he claims is his best performance in his career. He received the Filmfare Critics` Best Actor Award. 1995 was the turning point of his career. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) broke box office records and Khan, as the lead, was given a great deal of credit for its success. This was followed by Rakesh Roshan`s superhit flick Karan Arjun. He won his second Filmfare Best Actor award for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. He became the darling of Yash Raj camp and the most successful actor of this decade along with Aamir Khan. He won the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Dil To Pagal Hai. It was followed by a string of successes, most of them love stories, which included Pardes, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Devdas, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Veer-Zaara and the more recent Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Shah Rukh Khan also won critical praise for his performances in Anjaam, Dil Se and Swades which were less successful at the box office. The King Khan

Apart from becoming the most successful and popular star of the present generation in India and overseas, Shahrukh’s proximity with all major camps of Bollywood firmly established his reputation as the King Khan. He became the favourite of Bollywood`s biggest directors Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar. Thanks to the brilliant box office records of his movies, he became the most saleable star and figured among the highest-earning actors along with none other than Amitabh Bachchan. He became the darling of the ad world too by endorsing almost all top brands. Criticism Despite his success, he was also subjected to severe criticism from several quarters for sticking to "safe" romantic roles (such as his roles in Karan Johar`s or Yash Chopra`s films). However, with Swades and Paheli, Khan took a different take on roles. Unfortunately Swades and Paheli didn`t do very well at the box office compared to Khan`s other films. Khan co-owns a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with actress Juhi Chawla (a friend ever since they co-starred in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman) and film director Aziz Mirza. The production company has produced three of his films, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Asoka and Chalte Chalte. With the exception of Chalte Chalte which was a hit, the other two flopped at the box office. In 2004 another of his production houses, Red Chilies Entertainment, produced film Main Hoon Na which was his second hit under his own production house. He also co-produced the horror film Kaal in 2005 with Karan Johar. He then produced Paheli, which was India`s selection for the Academy awards consideration. SRK takes on Big B!

King Khan grabbed the limelight once again recently with the release of Farhan Akhtar’s remake of Amitabh-starrer ‘Don’. Despite average reviews by the critics, the movie is doing well at the box office and the entire credit is being given to SRK himself. Those who have seen the movie are clearly saying that though it is impossible to repeat the magic of Amitabh Bachchan, but Shahrukh is the only saving grace of the movie. Once Neha Dhupia said, “Only sex and Shahrukh Khan sells in Bollywood.” Well sex was indeed saleable for a year or so, but then its craze ended there and then. But the King Khan still rocks! His journey from ‘Deewana’ to ‘Don’ is truly inspirational for all the budding actors. Let us pray that he continues to rock for several decades to come.