Shahrukh Khan

"Shahrukh" redirects here. For the Timurid dynasty ruler, see Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty).

Shahrukh Khan
Born	2 November 1965 (1965-11-02) (age 45) New Delhi, India
Other names	Shah Rukh Khan, King Khan, SRK[1]‎
Occupation	Actor, producer, television presenter
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	Gauri Khan (1991–present)

Shahrukh Khan (Urdu: شاہ رُخ خان, Hindi: शाहरुख़ ख़ान; born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor and a prominent Bollywood figure, as well as a film producer and television host. Khan began his career appearing in several television serials in the late 1980s. He made his film debut in Deewana (1992). Since then, he has been part of numerous commercially successful films and has earned critical acclaim for many of his performances. Khan has won fourteen Filmfare Awards for his work in Indian films, eight of which are in the Best Actor category (a record). In 2005, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian Cinema.
Khan's films such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Chak De India (2007), Om Shanti Om (2007) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) remain some of Bollywood's biggest hits, while films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) and My Name Is Khan (2010) have been top-grossing Indian productions in the overseas markets, making him one of the most successful actors of India.^[2] Since 2000, Khan branched out into film production and television presenting as well. He is the founder/owner of two production companies, Dreamz Unlimited and Red Chillies Entertainment. Khan is today considered to be the world's biggest movie star,^[3] with a fan following numbering in the billions^[4] and a net worth estimated at over Rs 2500 crore (US$ 540 million).^[5] In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.^[3]

Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Film career 2.1 Background 2.2 1990s 2.3 2000s 3 Producer 4 Television host 5 Awards and nominations 6 Filmography 6.1 Film actor 6.2 Producer 6.3 Playback singer 6.4 Stunts director 6.5 Television appearances 7 See also 8 Notes 9 Bibliography 10 External links

Biography

Shah Rukh Khan attended the elite St. Columba's School in New Delhi where he won the school's highest accolade, The Sword of Honour.

Khan was born in 1965 to Muslim^[6] parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India.^[7] His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian independence activist from Peshawar, British India. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan.^[8] His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served as a General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose.^[9] Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India,^[10] while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi, British India.^[11] Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.^[12]
Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood,^[13] Khan attended St. Columba's School where he was accomplished in sports, drama, and academics. He won the Sword of Honour, an annual award given to the student who best represents the spirit of the school. Khan later attended the Hansraj College (1985–1988) and earned his Bachelors degree in Economics (honors). Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to make his career in Bollywood.^[14]
After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991.^[15] In that same year, before any of his films were released, he married Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991.^[16] They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Allah, he also values his wife's religion. At home, his children follow both religions, with the Qur'an being situated next to the Hindu deities.^[17]
In 2005, Nasreen Munni Kabir produced a two-part documentary on Khan, titled The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. Featuring his 2004 Temptations concert tour, the film contrasted Khan's inner world of family and daily life with the outer world of his work. The book Still Reading Khan, which details his family life, was released in 2006. Another book by Anupama Chopra, King of Bollywood: Shahrukh Khan and the seductive world of Indian cinema, was released in 2007. It describes the world of Bollywood through Khan's life.^[18][19]

Film career

Background

Khan studied acting under celebrated Theatre Director Barry John at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG). In 2007, John commented thus on his former pupil that, "The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of Shahrukh's career goes to the superstar himself."^[20] Khan made his acting debut in 1988 when he appeared in the television series, Fauji, playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai.^[21] He went on to appear in several other television serials, most notably in the 1989 serial, Aziz Mirza's Circus, which depicted the life of circus performers.^[22] The same year, Khan also had a minor role in the made-for-television English-language film, In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, which was based on life at Delhi University and was written by Arundhati Roy.

1990s

Upon moving from New Delhi to Mumbai in 1991,^[23] Khan made his Bollywood movie debut in Deewana (1992). The movie became a box office hit, and launched his career in Bollywood.^[24] His performance won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. He went on to star in Maya Memsaab, which generated some controversy because of his appearance in an "explicit" sex scene in the movie.^[25]
In 1993, Khan won acclaim for his performances in villainous roles as an obsessive lover and a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, Darr and Baazigar.^[26] In Khan's entry in Encyclopedia Britannica's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" it was stated that "he defied the image of the conventional hero in both these films and created his own version of the revisionist hero."^[27] Darr marked his first collaboration with renowned film-maker Yash Chopra and his banner Yash Raj Films, the largest production company in Bollywood. Baazigar, which saw Khan portraying an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula.^[28] His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. In that same year, Khan played the role of a young musician in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, a performance that earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Khan maintains that this is his all-time favourite among the movies he has acted in.^[29] In 1994, Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho's role in Anjaam, co-starring alongside Madhuri Dixit. Though the movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.^[30]
In 1995, Khan starred in the two biggest hits of the year in India. His first release was Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun. The film, which dealt with reincarnation, became the second-highest grossing film of the year.^[31] He followed it with Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. A major critical and commercial success, the movie became the year's top-grossing production in India.^[32] In 2007, it entered its twelfth year in Mumbai theaters. By then the movie had grossed over 12 billion rupees, making it one of India's biggest movie blockbusters.^[33] Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge won ten Filmfare Awards, and Khan's performance as a young NRI who falls for Kajol's character while on a college vacation, won him his second Best Actor Award. In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the movie amongst the 25 Must See Bollywood Films, citing it as a "trendsetter of sorts".^[34] In that same year's retrospective review by Rediff, Raja Sen stated, "Khan gives a fabulous performance, redefining the Lover for the 1990s with great panache. He's cool and flippant, but sincere enough to appeal to the junta. The performance itself is, like the best in the business, played well enough to come across as effortless, as non-acting."^[35]
1996 was a disappointing year for Khan as all his movies released that year failed to do well at the box office.^[36] This was, however, followed by a comeback in 1997. He saw success with Subhash Ghai's social drama Pardes — one of the biggest hits of the year — and Aziz Mirza's comedy Yes Boss, a moderately successful feature.^[37] His second project with Yash Chopra as a director, Dil to Pagal Hai became that year's second highest-grossing movie, and he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role as a stage director who falls in love with one of his new actresses.^[37]
In 1998, Khan starred in Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the biggest hit of the year.^[38] His performance won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare. He won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se. The movie did not do well at the Indian box office, though it was a commercial success overseas.^[39] Khan's only release in 1999, Baadshah, was an average grosser.^[40]

2000s

Khan at the Zee Carnival in Sun Tech City, Singapore, in 2008

Khan's success continued with Aditya Chopra's 2000 film, Mohabbatein, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. It did well at the box office, and Khan's performance as a college teacher won him his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He also starred in Mansoor Khan's action film Josh. The film starred Khan as the leader of a Christian gang in Goa and Aishwarya Rai as his twin sister, and was also a box office success.^[41] In that same year, Khan set up his own production house, Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla (see below). Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first movie of their production house, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani.^[41] His work with Karan Johar continued as he collaborated on the family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which was the second biggest hit of the year. He also received favorable reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic, Asoka, a partly fictionalised account of the life of Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC).^[42]
In 2002, Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance, Devdas. It was the third Hindi movie adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's well-known novel of the same name, and surfaced as one of the biggest hits of that year.^[43] Khan also starred opposite Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the family-drama Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, which did well at the box office.^[43] In 2003, Khan starred in the moderately successful romantic drama, Chalte Chalte.^[44] That same year, he starred in the tearjerker, Kal Ho Naa Ho, written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil Advani. Khan's performance in this movie as a man with a fatal heart disease was appreciated. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and Bollywood's biggest hit in the overseas markets.^[44]
2004 was a particularly good year for Khan, both commercially and critically. He starred in Farah Khan's directorial debut, the comedy Main Hoon Na. The movie did well at the box office. He then played the role of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh in Yash Chopra's love saga Veer-Zaara, which was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas.^[45] The film relates the love story of Veer and Pakistani woman Zaara Haayat Khan, played by Preity Zinta. Khan's performance in the film won him awards at several award ceremonies. In that same year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's drama Swades. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his releases in 2004, winning it for Swades.^[45]
In 2006, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the fourth time with the melodrama movie Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. It did well in India and much more so in the overseas market, becoming the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market of all-time.^[46] His second release that year saw him playing the title role in the action film Don: The Chase Begins Again, a remake of the 1978 hit Don. The movie was a success.^[46]
Khan's success continued with a few more highly popular films. One of his most successful works was the multiple award-winning 2007 film, Chak De India, about the Indian women's national hockey team. Earning over Rs 639 million, Chak De India became the third highest grossing movie of 2007 in India and won yet another Filmfare Best Actor Award for Khan.^[47] The film was a major critical success.^[48] In the same year Khan also starred in Farah Khan's 2007 film, Om Shanti Om. The film emerged as the year's highest grossing film in India and the overseas market, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that point.^[47] It earned him another nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. Khan's more recent films include the 2008 release, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi which was a huge box office success, and his only 2009 release was Billu which failed at the box office.
Khan's next film was My Name Is Khan, his fourth collaboration with director Karan Johar and the sixth movie in which he is paired with Kajol. Filming commenced in December 2008 in Los Angeles and ended in October 2009. While on one shoot in Los Angeles, along with his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a break from filming to attend the 66th Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles, California, on 11 January 2009.^[49][50] Khan introduced Slumdog Millionaire, a movie he had previously turned down, along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto. My Name Is Khan was released on 12 February 2010.^[51] Based on a true story, and set against the backdrop of perceptions on Islam post 11 September attacks, My Name Is Khan stars Khan as Rizwan Khan, a Muslim man suffering from Asperger syndrome who sets out on a journey across America on a mission to meet the country's President and clear his name. Upon release, the film received positive reviews from critics and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in the overseas market. Khan won his eighth Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his portrayal, threby joining Dilip Kumar as the record holder in this category. He is currently filming for Anubhav Sinha's science fiction Ra.One opposite Kareena Kapoor, which is due for release on June 3, 2011.

Producer

Khan at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival in Germany

Khan turned producer when he set up a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. The first two of the films he produced and starred in: Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) and Asoka (2001) were box office failures.^[42] However, his third film as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte (2003), proved a box office hit.^[44]
In 2004, Khan set up another production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, and produced and starred in Main Hoon Na, another hit.^[45] The following year, he produced and starred in the fantasy film Paheli, which did poorly.^[52] It was, however, India's official entry to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not pass the final selection. Also in 2005, Khan co-produced the supernatural horror film Kaal with Karan Johar, and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. Kaal was moderately successful at the box office.^[52] His company has gone on to produce Om Shanti Om (2007), in which he starred, and Billu (2009), in which he played a supporting role as a Bollywood superstar.
Apart from film production, the company also has a visual effects studio known as Red Chillies VFX. It has also ventured into television content production, with shows like, The First Ladies, Ghar Ki Baat Hai', and Knights and Angels. Television advertisements are also produced by the company.^[53]
In 2008, Red Chillies Entertainment became the owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the BCCI-backed IPL cricket competition.

Television host

In 2007, Khan replaced Amitabh Bachchan as the host of the third series of the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.^[54] The previous had hosted the show for five years from 2000–05. On 22 January 2007, Kaun Banega Crorepati aired with Khan as the new host^[55] and later ended on 19 April 2007.^[56]
On 25 April 2008, Khan began hosting the game show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?, the Indian version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?,^[57] whose last episode was telecasted on 27 July 2008, with Lalu Prasad Yadav as the special guest.^[58]

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of Shahrukh Khan's awards and nominations

Khan has been awarded several honours which includes the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award from the Government of India in 2005. In April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, London. Another statue was installed at the Musée Grévin in Paris, the same year.^[59] During the same year, he was accorded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of the Arts and Literature) award by the French government for his “exceptional career”.^[60] There are also statues in Hong Kong ^[61] and New York ^[62]
In October 2008, Khan was conferred the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka which carries the honorific Datuk (in similar fashion to "Sir" in British knighthood), by the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, the head of state of Malacca in Malaysia. Khan was honoured for "promoting tourism in Malacca" by filming One Two Ka Four there in 2001. Some were critical of this decision.^[63] He was also honoured with an honorary doctorate in arts and culture from Britain's University of Bedfordshire in 2009.^[64]

Filmography

Film actor

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1992	Deewana	Raja Sahai	Winner, Filmfare Best Male Debut Award
	Idiot	Pawan Raghujan
	Chamatkar	Sunder Srivastava
	Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman	Raju (Raj Mathur)
	Dil Aashna Hai	Karan
1993	Maya Memsaab	Lalit Kumar
	King Uncle	Anil Bhansal
	Baazigar	Ajay Sharma/Vicky Malhotra	Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Darr	Rahul Mehra	Nominated, Filmfare Best Villain Award
	Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa	Sunil	Winner, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
1994	Anjaam	Vijay Agnihotri	Winner, Filmfare Best Villain Award
1995	Karan Arjun	Arjun Singh/Vijay
	Zamana Deewana	Rahul Malhotra
	Guddu	Guddu Bahadur
	Oh Darling! Yeh Hai India!	Hero
	Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge	Raj Malhotra	Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Ram Jaane	Ram Jaane
	Trimurti	Romi Singh
1996	English Babu Desi Mem	Vikram/Hari/Gopal Mayur
	Chaahat	Roop Rathore
	Army	Arjun	Cameo
	Dushman Duniya Ka	Badru
1997	Gudgudee		Special appearance
	Koyla	Shankar
	Yes Boss	Rahul Joshi	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Pardes	Arjun Saagar
	Dil To Pagal Hai	Rahul	Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award
1998	Duplicate	Bablu Chaudhry/Manu Dada	Nominated, Filmfare Best Villain Award
	Achanak	Himself	Special appearance
	Dil Se	Amarkant Varma
	Kuch Kuch Hota Hai	Rahul Khanna	Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award
1999	Baadshah	Raj Heera/Baadshah	Nominated, Filmfare Best Comedian Award
2000	Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani	Ajay Bakshi
	Hey Ram	Amjad Ali Khan
	Josh	Max
	Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega	Rahul	Cameo
	Mohabbatein	Raj Aryan Malhotra	Winner, Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Gaja Gamini	Himself	Special appearance
2001	One 2 Ka 4	Arun Verma
	Asoka	Asoka
	Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...	Rahul Raichand	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
2002	Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam	Gopal
	Devdas	Devdas Mukherjee	Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Shakti: The Power	Jaisingh	Special appearance
	Saathiya	Yeshwant Rao	Cameo
2003	Chalte Chalte	Raj Mathur
	Kal Ho Naa Ho	Aman Mathur	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
2004	Yeh Lamhe Judaai Ke	Dushant
	Main Hoon Na	Maj. Ram Prasad Sharma	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Veer-Zaara	Veer Pratap Singh	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Swades	Mohan Bhargava	Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award
2005	Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye	Himself	Special appearance
	Kaal		Special appearance in song Kaal Dhamaal
	Silsilay	Sutradhar	Cameo
	Paheli	Kishenlal/The Ghost
	The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan	Himself (Biopic)	Documentary directed by British-based author and director Nasreen Munni Kabir
2006	Alag		Special appearance in song Sabse Alag
	Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna	Dev Saran	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Don - The Chase Begins Again	Vijay/Don	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award Nominated, Asian Film Award for Best Actor
	I See You		Special appearance in song Subah Subah
2007	Chak De India	Kabir Khan	Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Heyy Babyy	Raj Malhotra	Special appearance in song Mast Kalandar
	Om Shanti Om	Om Prakash Makhija/ Om Kapoor	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
2008	Krazzy 4		Special appearance in song Break Free
	Bhoothnath	Aditya Sharma	Cameo
	Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi	Surinder Sahni/Raj	Nominated, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Kismat Konnection	Narrator
2009	Luck by Chance	Himself	Guest appearance
	Billu	Sahir Khan
2010	Dulha Mil Gaya	Pawan Raj Gandhi (PRG)	Extended appearance
	My Name Is Khan	Rizwan Khan	Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award
	Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu	Himself	Cameo
2011	Koochie Koochie Hota Hain	Rocky (Voice-over)	Post-production
	Ra.One	G.One	Filming
	Don 2 - The Chase Continues	Don	Filming

Producer

• Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000)
• Asoka (2001)
• Chalte Chalte (2003)
• Main Hoon Na (2004)
• Kaal (2005)
• Paheli (2005)
• Om Shanti Om (2007)
• Billu (2009)
• Ra.One (2011)

Playback singer

• Main to hoon Pagal - Baadshah (1999)
• Apun Bola - Josh (2000)
• Khaike Paan Banaraswala - Don - The Chase Begins Again (2006)
• Ek Hockey Doongi Rakhke - Chak De India (2007)
• Sattar Minute - Chak De India (2007)

Stunts director

• Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
• Main Hoon Na (2004)
• Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
• Chak De India (2007)
• Om Shanti Om (2007)

Television appearances

• Dil Dariya (1988)
• Fauji (1988) ... Abhimanyu Rai
• Doosra Keval (1989)
• Circus (1989)
• In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989)
• Idiot (1991) ... Pawan Raghujan
• Kareena Kareena (2004) ... Special appearance
• Rendezvous with Simi Garewal.....Guest
• Koffee with Karan (2004–2007) ... Guest (3 episodes)
• Kaun Banega Crorepati (2007) ... Host
• Jjhoom India (2007) ... Guest
• Nach Baliye (2008) .... Guest
• Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain? (2008)  .... Host
• Oye! It's Friday! (2009)  ... Guest
• Tere Mere Beach Mein (2009)  ... Guest
• Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (2010)  ... Guest
• Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout (2011) ... Host