All About Shahrukh Khan

"King of Bollywood" redirects here. For the film, see King of Bollywood (film).

Shahrukh Khan (born 2 November 1965), often credited as Shah Rukh Khan and informally referred as SRK, is an Indian film actor. Often referred to in the media as "Badshah of Bollywood", "King Khan", "King of Romance" and "The King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in 75 Hindi films in genres ranging from romantic dramas to action thrillers.His contributions to the film industry have garnered him numerous achievements including fourteen Filmfare Awards from thirty nominations. His eight Filmfare Best Actor Award wins make him the most awarded Bollywood actor of all time in that category, tied only with Dilip Kumar. In 2005, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

After graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics, he started his career appearing in theatre and several television serials in the late 1980s and later made his Hindi film debut in 1992 with Deewana. Early in his career he was recognised for his unconventional choice in portraying negative roles in films such as Darr (1993), Baazigar (1993) and Anjaam (1994). He later rose to prominence by playing a series of romantic roles in the films Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(1998). The commercial success of these films garnered him the tag of "the King of Romance", Khan subsequently earned wide critical appreciation for his portrayal of a NASA scientist in Swades (2004), a hockey coach in Chak De! India (2007) and as the titular character in My Name Is Khan (2010). Eleven of the films he has acted in, have accumulated gross earnings of over

one billion, making him one of the most successful leading actors of Hindi cinema.

Khan is the co-founder of Dreamz Unlimited, a production company and occupies the position of CEO and co-chairman of the motion picture production and distribution company Red Chillies Entertainment and the animation studio Red Chillies VFX. He is also co-owner of the Indian Premier League cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders. The year 2007 marked his debut as a television presenter with the Star Plus gaming show Kaun Banega Crorepati. Khan is often labelled by the Media as "Brand SRK" due to his various brand endorsement and entrepreneurship ventures. He is also a regular stage performer and award ceremony host and has been involved in philanthropic endeavors related to Health care, relief funds and children's education, for which he was honoured with the UNESCO's Pyramide con Marni award in 2011.

Khan is considered to be one of the biggest film stars in cinematic history, with a fan following claimed to number in the billions; in 2011, the Los Angeles Times called him "the world's biggest movie star." He has also been regularly featured in the listing of the most powerful names in Indian Cinema and in 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world. Khan has an estimated net worth of over

25 billion (US $540 million). He has been married to Indian film producer and interior designer, Gauri Khan since 1991, and together they have two children.

Early life and background

Khan was born on 2 November 1965 to Muslim parents in New Delhi, India.His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, a Pathan, was an Indian independence activist from Peshawar,British India. According to Khan, his paternal grandfather was originally from Afghanistan.His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan, who served in the Indian National Army. Khan's father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before the partition of India,^[ Regarding his origins, he described himself on Twitter as "i am half hyderabadi (mom) half pathan (Dad) some kashmiri (grandmom) His father died from cancer when Khan was 15 years old, and his mother died in 1990 after prolonged illness. Khan was very attached to his parents as a child and describes their early deaths as a turning point in his life and as his biggest motivation for hard work. Khan explained his ideology in life was "... to make movies so damn bloody big...that my parents somewhere sit down on a star and from there also can look at their son and say 'I can see his movies from here better than I can see the Wall of China or anything. We see his movies covering the face of this earth'. Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.

Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood of Delhi, 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. When Hansraj College celebrated its 50th anniversary, it gave away 17 shields to its alumni who had excelled in their lives and professions. Khan was one of them. Though he pursued a Masters Degree in Mass Communications at Jamia Millia Islamia, he later opted out to pursue a career in Bollywood. He also attended the National School of Drama in Delhi.

After the death of his mother, Khan moved to Mumbai in 1991. He married Gauri Chibber, a Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991. They have two children, son Aryan (b. 1997) and daughter Suhana (b. 2000). According to Khan, while he strongly believes in Islam, 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.

Acting career

1988–92: Early work and breakthrough

Khan studied acting under the mentorship of theatre director Barry John at Delhi's "Theatre Action Group" (TAG). Khan's first starring role was in Lekh Tandon's television seriesDil Dariya, but due to production delays, the 1988 television series, Fauji was his television debut. He played the leading role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai in the critically acclaimed show, which earned him mass recognition.He went on to appear in Aziz Mirza's Circus (1989) and played a minor role in the made-for-television English-language film, In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones (1989). His appearance in these teleserials, led critics to compare his acting style with that of film actor Dilip Kumar. In 1990, Khan shifted base to Mumbai and received his first film offer with Hema Malini's directorial debut Dil Aashna Hai. However, due to production delays, his second film, Deewana (1992), opposite Rishi Kapoor and Divya Bharti released first. The film became a box office hit, and launched his career in Bollywood. Despite portraying a supporting character in the film, he won a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award, the following year.

He subsequently featured in Mani Kaul's adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot, Idiot. Originally made for television, the film eventually received a theatrical release and debuted at the New York Film Festival on 8 October 1992. Later that year, he played the titular character in the comedy, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, which was his first of many collaborations with actress Juhi Chawla. The film proved to be a box office hit. He went on to star in Ketan Mehta's Maya Memsaab, an adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary. Upon release, the film generated controversy in India due to Khan's appearance in an "explicit" sex scene with co-star Deepa Sahi.

1993–97: Critical and commercial success

In 1993, Khan garnered appreciation for portraying negative roles, that of an obsessive lover and a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, Darr and Baazigar. The "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" analyzed that "he defied the image of the conventional hero in both these films and created his own version of the revisionist hero. Darr marked the first of many collaborations of Khan with film-maker Yash Chopra and his banner Yash Raj Films. Khan's stammering in the film and the usage of the phrase, "I love you, Kkkiran," were popular with the audiences. His other release, Baazigar, in which he played an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, "shocked the Indian audiences" with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula.^[49] His performance in Baazigar won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award.

The same year, Khan played the role of a love-struck musician in Kundan Shah's dramedy Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, a performance that earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. In a retrospective review by Rediff, Sukanya Verma called it Khan's best performance and added, "He was spontaneous, vulnerable, boyish, mischievous and acting straight from the heart.^] Khan, himself, considers this film to the best film that he has acted in.^[51] In 1994, Khan once again played an obsessive lover in Anjaam, co-starring Madhuri Dixit. Though the film was a commercial failiure, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.

Khan, holding a painting of his character Raj Malhotra from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge(1995) that was gifted to him during an appearance on a TV show.

In 1995, Khan starred in two box-office blockbusters. His first release was Rakesh Roshan's melodramatic thriller Karan Arjun, in which Khan was a part of an ensemble cast that included Salman Khan, Kajol, Mamta Kulkarni, Raakhee and Amrish Puri. The film, which dealt with the concept of reincarnation, became the second-highest grossing film of the year in India.^[53] He followed it with Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. A major critical and commercial success, the film became the year's top-grossing production in India and abroad. The film was declared an "all time blockbuster"; it remains the longest-running film in the history of Indian cinema and as of 2011, it is still playing at the Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge has grossed over

1.2 billion worldwide. The film won ten Filmfare Awards, and Khan's performance as a young NRI who falls for Kajol's character while on a trip across Europe won him critical acclaim and his second Best Actor Award at the Filmfare. In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the film amongst the 25 Must See Bollywood Films, citing it as a "trendsetter of sorts". Raja Sen reviewed, "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 [audience]. The performance itself is, like the best in the business, played well enough to come across as effortless, as non-acting. "

1996 proved to be a disappointing year for Khan, as he appeared in two critical and commercial failiures, Praveen Nischol's English Babu Desi Mem and Mahesh Bhatt' Chaahat However, in 1997, his starring role in Subhash Ghai's social drama Pardes earned him commercial success. The film, which also featured Mahima Chaudhry and Apurva Agnihotri, saw him portray the role of Arjun, a musician facing a moral dilemma. His performance earned him a nomination for the Best Actor at the Filmfare Award ceremony. He then featured in Aziz Mirza's romantic comedy, Yes Boss, opposite Juhi Chawla. Upon release, the film performed moderately well at the box-office.His final release of the year was Yash Chopra's blockbuster musical romanance, Dil to Pagal Hai. The project, also featuring Madhuri Dixit and Karishma Kapoor, marked his second collaboration with the filmmaker. Khan essayed the role of Rahul, a stage director who falls in love with one of his new actresses, played by Dixit. The film as well as his performance met with critical appreciation; he won his third Best Actor Award at the Filmfare.

Khan with Kajol and Johar at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival for their film My Name Is Khan. His performance in the film was acclaimed and he won his eighth Filmfare Award in the Best Actor categor

Producer

Main articles: Red Chillies Entertainment and Red Chillies VFX

Khan turned producer when he set up a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla and director Aziz Mirza in 1999. In 2004, Khan took over the company and transformed it into Red Chillies Entertainment with his wife Gauri also serving as a producer.He produced three films under his first company; Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani(2000), co-starring Chawla and directed by Mirza, a critical and commercial failure. The following year, he produced Asoka which was a box office failure. However, it was well received by critics, and was nominated for the Filmfare Best Movie Award. His third film as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte, proved a box office hit.

Khan unveiling the video game of Ra.One(2011)

The first film to be produced by RCE was Main Hoon Na (2004) was another hit which was directed by his friend and well-known choreographer Farah Khan.The film earned 10 nominations for the Filmfare Award. The following year, he produced and starred in the fantasy film Paheli (2005), which did poorly.It was, however, critically acclaimed and was selected as India's official entry to the Academy Awards for consideration for Best Foreign Language Film. Also in 2005, Khan co-produced the supernatural horror film Kaal (2005) with Karan Johar, and performed an item number for the film with Malaika Arora Khan. Kaal was moderately successful at the box office. In 2007, Khan produced Om Shanti Om also directed by Farah Khan. The film was a major commercial success, and was declared India's highest grossing production ever up to that point. It was also nominated for the Filmfare Best Movie Award. His company has further gone on to produce Billu (2009), and Always Kabhi Kabhi (2011). During the filming of My Name Is Khan,Karan Johar producer of the film and head of Dharma Productions, asked Khan to co-produce the film under his production company.The both will further collaborate in Johar's next directorial venture Student Of The Year. Since the creation of his company, Khan was keen on making a VFX-loaded film. The company continued working on other projects and seeking for the right film until they finally decided on Ra.One (2011).The film saw the inclusion of several visual effects techniques being incorporated in the production which were carried out by his own animation studeo. Khan is also one of the producers of Don 2(2011), but not through his production company. The film was a major success in India and abroad.

The company has five sub divisions, apart from film production, the company also has a animation studio known as Red Chillies VFXwhich had been involved with many major films like Chak De India, Om Shanti Om, Dostana, and Kurbaan as well as studios for TV commercials known as Red Chillies TVC and TV shows/serials known as Red Chillies Idiot Box, which conceived popular shows likeUp Close & Personal with PZ and Ishaan. The company also has a little over 50% stake in the Cricket team Kolkata Knight Ridersoften abbreviated as KKR, in the BCCI-backed IPL cricket competition.

Brand SRK

SRK at a Tag Heuer press conference, promoting the Carrera Monaco GP watch.

Khan is often labelled by the Media as "Brand SRK" due to his various brand endorsement and entrepreneurship ventures. The Times Of Indianoted “Khan has established himself as a brand on the map of the film industry. Hailing from a non-filmi background with no pedigree to boast of and no godfather to pull strings, the St. Columba's alumnus has become a muse. ” In 2005, he launched his own perfume, labelled "Tiger Eyes by SRK" by the French perfume brand Jeanne Arthes.

1999 marked Khan's first foray in the world of celebrity endorsements.and his popularity in the advertising world has been increasing ever since.He is one of the top paid Bollywood actors in this respect and one the most visible celebrities in television ads. In 2009, a survey conducted by AdEx India ranked him first on the list of top-notch brand ambassadors of the year.He has also been endorsing the highest number of brands amongst Indian celebrities on television;while in 2003, he endorsed eight brands, his endorsement rose up to a total of thirteen brands in 2004 and in 2005 he endorsed twenty one brands, thirty four brands in 2009 and twenty five in 2011. Some of the brands that Khan has endorsed over the years are Pepsi, Sprite, Nokia, Hyundai, Sunfeast, Videocon, Airtel, Emami, Nerolac Paints, Dish TV, Linc Pens, D'decor, LUX, Frooti, Compaq and Tag Heuer.Subsequently, Khan has been crowned "Brand Ambassador of the Year" at various business awards ceremonies over the years.

In December 2007, Khan was declared as the face of Force India, the Formula One racing team representing India in international motor race championships. Force India stated about their collaboration with Khan: "We thought the fastest way to announce our arrival in the country is to use [Shahrukh] Khan as the team's brand ambassador. He is famous, successful and the most potent icon of young and confident India. Those are the same values that the team is trying to project on the biggest stage of motorsports." And in 2011, Khan was appointed the brand ambassador of the Champions League Twenty20, an annual international Twenty20 cricket competition between the top domestic teams from major cricketing nations.In 2010, Khan was named the global ambassador of the live entertainment theatre and leisure destination Kingdom of Dreams which is described as Bollywood's very own Broadway.In April 2012, he was roped as the official brand ambassador for Prayag Film City, a

10 billion state of the art film city complex situated in Chandrakona in West Bengal.

In February 2011, Khan was appointed brand ambassador for the state of West Bengal. He was offered the position by the state’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee during an interaction with Khan on the sidelines of the inaugural function of the 17th Kolkata Film Festival earlier that year. Khan’s acceptance came in the form of a letter to the chief minister where he said, “West Bengal is my second home.”In August 2012, a promotional film starring Khan and directed by filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury was released. The three minutes clip branded `Bengal Leads` which is the first-of-its-kind in West Bengal since Independence showcased Bengal’s traditional tourist spots, topographical and cultural diversity. It also featured Khan speaking a few lines in Bengali, urging people to come and visit what is called “Beautiful Bengal’’. The film, shot in both English and Hindi and Bengali, was eventually awarded at the 2nd Asia TV and Film Festival on Journey, organized by the Japanese government.

Ownership of IPL cricket team

In 2008, Khan in partnership with actress Juhi Chawla Mehta and her husband Jay Mehta acquired ownership rights for the franchise representing Kolkata in the Twenty20 cricket tournament Indian Premier League, for a price of $75.09 million (

3.57 billion), and have since named the team Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR is one the richest team in the IPL and has been ranked as the most valued with a brand value of $42.1 million.Financially, Kolkata Knight Riders are the most profitable and successful franchise in the IPL as well. The team was surrounded with controversy and poor on-field performance through the first three years of the tournament. It's performance, however, improved from the fourth season and they eventually became the IPL champions for the first time in 2012 .

In 9 April 2012, Khan was served a notice by the Rajasthan Police for smoking in public after he was seen smoking on camera during a match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals on April 8.and in 16 May of the same year he received a five-year ban from the Wankhede Stadium by the Mumbai Cricket Associationfor arguing with security at the ground after a match between his team and The Mumbai Indians.Khan later apologised to his fans after his team won the final match at Chennai on May 27.

In the media

Khan was given the birth name "Shahrukh" (meaning "Face of the King"), but prefers his name to be written as "Shah Rukh Khan", and is also commonly referred to as SRK.Khan has various homes in India and abroad. His house in Mumbai called Mannat is a well-known tourist spot and is considered a heritage building, deemed important to the townscape and hence exempt from demolition.In addition, he also has a house in New Delhi.Khan also owns a £20 million apartment in London and a

4 billion villa on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. He said in a television interview that "I bought the house, because one can see the island from the moon." Khan's net worth is estimated at over

25 billion (US$540 million)

Khan at the launch of his official Opus, in 2011.

Globally, Khan is considered to be one of the biggest movie stars, with a fan following claimed to number in the billions. He is also of one the most watched movie stars in the world, and one of the most recognisable faces of Indian cinema. In 2008,Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.In 2011, The Los Angeles Times noted: "He is the biggest movie star you’ve never heard of. And perhaps the world’s biggest movie star, period. "His success and popularity has been attributed as the result of his emergence in the era of liberalisation and changing economic scenario in the 1990s. He was often described as the face and catalyst of a new consumerist urban society, and that he has managed to personify "the restless spirit of post-liberalization, ambitious, assertive and yet feel-good India. "

Khan has been noted for having several trademark mannerisms, gestures and ways of delivering dialogues.As it has been cited by CNN-IBN: "The mannerisms that have earned him both brickbats and endeared him to his fans over the years – that half nod, raised brow gesture, a deep dimpled smile and a deliberate stammer – were absent when he debuted. If he picked them up later to addapt to the big screen, they stayed for the rest of his acting career. " Due to his appearance in numerous romantic films, Khan has developed a "romantic lover boy" image and is referred to as the "King of Romance" by media outlets.He has been accused of repeating himself through the type of characters that he played, referred to as the "Rajs and Rahuls", or him not being able to shed the superstar persona on screen. In 2011, Rediff listed him in the top 10 "Readers Choice: The Greatest Actors of all time".

Khan has been featured regularly in the listing of the most powerful names of Indian Cinema. In 2004, he was awarded the Filmfare Power Award (shared with Amitabh Bachachan) for topping the Filmfare list of the "Ten Most Powerful Names of Bollywood", and again in 2005. In 2006 he was ranked as second overall behind Yash Chopra and his son Aditya and the most powerful actor, an achievement he would go on to repeat till 2009.He occupied the top slot of Box Office India's Top Actors list for the first time in 1994 for two consecutive years, then again in 1998 and for the majority of the 2000s (from 2002 till 2008).He was voted the sexiest Asian man in the world by Eastern Eye in 2007, and was ranked third in 2008 and 2011. He was also declared by FICCI as one of the "Ten Most Powerful Entertainer of the Decade". In a 2009 poll conducted by the newspaper DNA, he was voted as India's second most popular icon behind Sachin Tendulkar.In a 2012 Hindustan Times Youth Survey, Khan was declared as the biggest role model for youth in India.

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 by Mushtaq Sheikh, 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. In 2010, Discovery Travel & Living channel produced a ten-part series titled Living with a Superstar-Shah Rukh Khan. The series was the biggest Indian show on television, with a budget of nearly

20 million, highlighting Khan’s daily living, film-making, IPL venture and global lifestyle.Khan is also the first actor and the second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar to have an official Opus dedicated to him.