Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan is the most acclaimed actor of India who works in Bollywood films. Along with being an actor he also has his own production company and sometimes also works as a TV host. ‘King Khan‘, ‘SRK‘, ‘SRKhan‘, ‘Badshah of Bollywood‘, ‘King of Romance‘, these are some of the nicknames given to Shahrukh Khan. His smile and dimples are his trademark and he has a height of 5.8″ (1.73m). Today Shahrukh stands among the highest respected and paid actors in Bollywood. His wife’s name is Gauri and he has one son and a daughter named Aryan and Suhana.

Early Life

Shahrukh Khan was born in New Delhi, on 2^nd November in the year 1965 to Muslim parents having Pathani descent. His father’s name was Taj Mohammad Khan, who originally was from Peshawar of British India and was an Indian freedom fighter. He had come to New Delhi, before India’s partition from Peshawar’s Qissa Khawani Bazaar. He was a lawyer by profession and died in the year 1982 due to cancer. Shahrukh’s mother, Lateef Fatima was Major General Shah Nawaz Khan’s adopted daughter. Major General Shah Nawaz had served as a general in Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. Fatima Begum was a first class magistrate and a social worker who died in the year 1991, due to complications from diabetes. Shahrukh also has an elder sister called Shehnaz.

Shahrukh did his schooling from New Delhi’s St. Colombia High School. Even in his school, he was quite accomplished in academics, drama and sports. He won the annual school award called the ‘Sword of Honor’ which was given to the student, best representing the school’s spirit. After completing school, he attended the Hansraj College in New Delhi from the year 1985 to 1988, from where he graduated with Economic Honors. Later he attended the Jamia Millia Islamia and pursued a Mass Communications Master degree. But he opted out from it later, to make a career in Bollywood.

After his parent’s death, Shahrukh shifted to Mumbai in1991. In this year he also marriedGauri Chibber, before the release of any of his films. He married Gauri who by faith is a Hindu on 25^th October 1991, in a traditional Hindu ceremony.

Film Career

Shahrukh learnt acting from the Theatre Action Group (TAG) in Delhi, under Berry John who is a celebrated Theater Director. He made his debut in acting in the year 1988 by appearing in a TV series called ‘Fauji’ where he played Commando Abhimanyu Rai’s role. After this, he also appeared in a few other TV serials, notably Aziz Mirza’s 1989 serial named ‘Circus’ which was based on circus life of the performers. He also did a small role in 1989 in the English language film made for television called ‘In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones’, written by Arundhati Roy.

In 1991, after moving to Mumbai from New Delhi, Shahrukh made his debut in Bollywood through the movie ‘Deewana’. This movie was a box office hit and worked as his career’s launchpad in Bollywood. His second Bollywood movie, ‘Maaya Memsaab’ created some controversy due to his appearance in an ‘explicit’ movie scene. In 1993, his film ‘Baazigar’, also became a major hit. In 1995, Shahrukh starred in Aditya Chopra’s ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’, which became a great commercial and critical success. This movie by 2007, entered its twelfth year in theaters of Mumbai and became one of the biggest blockbusters by grossing more than 12 billion rupees. Later, in 1990s, he also starred in many successful movies which included Yash Chopra’s ‘Dil to Pagal Hai’, Subhash Ghai’s Pardes, and in 1998 Karan Johar’s debut ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’. He was also praised for his performance in the movie, ‘Dil Se’ which was an overseas commercial success.

In 2000 Shahrukh’s success continued and he again got critical acclaim for Aditya Chopra’s film ‘Mohabbatein’. In this year, he set up along with actress Juhi Chawla his own production house called ‘Dreamz Unlimited’. Later he collaborated with Karan Johar in the movie ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham’ which became that year’s 2nd biggest hit. In 2002, he starred in the movie ‘Devdas’ which was a remake of the well known novel of the same name. This became one of the biggest hit film of that year. The other box office hits that followed are the film, ‘Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam’, Yash Chopra’s ‘Veer Zaara’, Karan Johar’s, ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’, the 2006 remake of ‘Don’. His 2007 movie, ‘Chak de India’, which was about the Indian national women’s hockey team won multiple awards. Also in the same year, his movie ‘Om Shanti Om’, directed by Farah Khan became a major hit both in India and the overseas. Shahrukh also lent his voice to the character of Mr. Lajawaab (Mr. Incredible), in the Hindi version of the Disney animated movie, ‘The Incredible’.

In 2004, Shahrukh launched ‘Red Chilies Entertainment’, his other production company. He starred and produced the films, ‘Main Hoo Na’ and ‘Om Shanti Om’ which were great box office hits. In the year 2008, his company became the owner of the ‘Kolkata Knight Riders’ of the IPL cricket League backed by the BCCI.

Shahrukh also did some television shows in recent years. In 2007, he hosted ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, a popular game show, which was the Indian version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’. In 2008, he hosted another game show called, ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain’

Awards

Shahrukh Khan’s extreme talent and popularity has won him many awards. Some of the notable among them are.

1. The Filmfare Best Male Debut Award in 1992 for the film ‘Deewana’.
2. The Filmfare Best Actor Award for the film ‘Baazigar’ in the year 1993.
3. The Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1995 for, ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’.
4. The Filmfare Best Actor Award in 1997 for ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’.
5. Critics Award for Best Performance in 2000 for the movie, ‘Mohabbatein’.
6. Filmfare Best Actor Award in 2004 for ‘Swades’.
7. Filmfare Award for the best actor for the film ‘Chak De India’, in 2007.