SHAHRUKH KHAN (SRK) is the new superstar he has transformed himself from Badshah to Super Hero ‘G.One’ in latest sensation Ra.One. Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan were the previous superstars of Bollywood. Popularly known as Badshah Khan or King Khan, Shahrukh Khan is celebrating his 46th birthday today. From a Fauji and Circus boy, Shahrukh Khan has now become the superstar and also the first choice of millions of people across the world. In fact, it’s only Shahrukh who got the chance to ape superstar Dilip Kumar in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’ and millennium star Amitabh Bachchan in Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Don’. On his 46th birthday here is a brief account, Shahrukh Khan’s biography, mainly an account of his 15 year film career.
Born in Delhi, on November 2, 1965, in a Muslim family, Shahrukh Khan is a perfect example of a self made man. In fact, what he is today is totally due to his own effort and now he is one of the best actors that Indian cinema has ever seen. Shahrukh started his acting journey right from his college going days. Armed with an unfinished Masters Degree in Mass Communications from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and learning the nitty-gritties he took the plunge in the world of acting.
Shahrukh Khan’s performance was first noticed in the television serial ‘Fauji’, which was his small screen debut. But then nobody was expecting that the thin shy boy would become a superstar one day. In the next teleserial, ‘Circus’ Shahrukh played the role of an unconcerned son of a circus owner. Shahrukh’s Bollywood journey began with Raj Kanwar’s ‘Deewana’ (1992) and he was awarded the Filmfare Best newcomer award for the same film. From there till date Shahrukh Khan never looked back. In a period, success became synonymous with Shahrukh’s name.
Shahrukh Khan’s life history is quite interesting. Cinema lovers have accepted Shahrukh Khan in various kinds of roles particularly as the romantic boy. Most importantly in the initial stage of his career when he was trying to get a foothold in Hindi film industry, he accepted the negative roles. He played an obsessed lover in Yash Johar’s ‘Darr’, that challenging role provided him an instant recognition. The unique style of dialogue delivery "Ka...Ka.... Kaa.... Kiran" became very popoular during those days. ‘Baazigar’, ‘Ram Jaane’ and ‘Anjaam’ were other films in which Shahrukh played negative characters.
‘Darr’ opened the floodgates of success for Shahrukh and he made an entry into the Yash Chopra camp. Yash Raj’s ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ (1995) was a roaring hit that got him the Filmfare Best Actor Award. The film made a record of running continuously over 500 weeks in Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir. ‘Dil to Pagal Hai’, ‘Mohabbatein’ and ‘Veer Zaara’ were other successful films under the Yash Raj banner and all praised the work of Shahrukh Khan’s performance in these films. Karan Johar’s ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’, ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ and ‘Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’ were other feathers in his cap. Shahrukh’s other notable films include ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’, ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’, ‘Pardes’, ‘Yes Boss’, ‘Dil Se’ and ‘Josh’.
With a wish to enact dual responsibility, Shahrukh Khan launched his own production company ‘Dreamz Unlimited’ in collaboration with actress Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza. ‘Dreamz Unlimited’ made remarkable films ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani’ and ‘Chalte Chalte’. In the year 2004, Shahrukh launched another banner called ‘Red Chillies Entertainment’ and made ‘Main Hoon Naa’ that become a big hit. SRK’s ‘Om Shanti Om’ is another film from ‘Red Chillies Entertainment’, which was released on November 9, 2007. My Name is Khan another film from his production house. The latest film produced by Red Chillies is Ra.One which is ruling the box office and earner more than 50 crores till now.
Shahrukh Khan has won above fifty national and international awards. In 2004 he was conferred with prestigious ’Padma Shri’ Award for his valuable contribution to Indian art and culture. Shahrukh is catching up with veteran actor Dilip Kumar in bagging the maximum number of Filmfare Best Actor awards. He has won 7 Filmfare awards in the best actor category till now.
Today we find him a successful star, but he has faced criticism for playing monotonous character of romantic man in every film. However, Shahrukh Khan never cared much about criticism and proved his ability with fine acting, the recent example is ‘Chak De India’. Shimit Amin’s hockey based plot compels the whole nation to think about the bad state of the national game and Shahrukh nicely played the character of hockey coach ‘Kabir Khan’. Earlier Shahrukh Khan enacted the memorable role of Mohan Bhargava, an Indian-American NASA Engineer in ‘Swades’ and got the Filmfare best actor award of the year 2005.
On the whole, Shahrukh’s film journey is only 18 years old and Shahrukh Khan’s age just 46, but the list of achievements is so long that it is not possible to describe them in few words. Happy Birthday Shahrukh Khan! Always entertain us with your fine performances. Lastly, Shahrukh you are a youth icon and a large section follows you, so it’s your responsibility to give up the bad habit of smoking. We except you will get rid of smoking soon as it is dangerous for future generations also who try to emulate you.
