As of 2015, Khan is co-chairman of the motion picture production companyRed Chillies Entertainment and its subsidiaries and is the co-owner of theIndian Premier League cricket teamKolkata Knight Riders and theCaribbean Premier League teamTrinbago Knight Riders. He is a frequent television presenter and stage show performer. Khan's philanthropic endeavours have provided health care and disaster relief, and he was honoured withUNESCO's Pyramide con Marni award in 2011 for his support of children's education and theWorld Economic Forum's Crystal Award in 2018 for advocating for women's and children's rights in India. He regularly features in listings of the most influential people inIndian culture, and in 2008,Newsweek named him one of their fifty most powerful people in the world. In 2022, Khan was voted one of the 50 greatest actors of all time in a readers' poll byEmpire, and in 2023,Time named him as one of themost influential people in the world.[5]
In 1946, Mir moved to Delhi to study law atDelhi University.[15] With thepartition of India in 1947, he was forced to stay in Delhi and did not return to Peshawar until many years later.[16] Khan's mother, Lateef Fatima, a magistrate, was the daughter of a senior government engineer.[17][d][18] His parents were married in 1959.[19]
Early life
Khan was born as Shahrukh Khan on 2 November 1965 into aMuslim family inNew Delhi.[20] He spent the first five years of his life inMangalore, where his maternal grandfather, Iftikhar Ahmed, served as chief engineer of the port in the 1960s.[21][22][e] Khan has described himself onTwitter as "halfHyderabadi (mother), halfPathan (father), and someKashmiri (grandmother)".[24]
Khan grew up in theRajendra Nagar neighbourhood of New Delhi.[25] His father had several business ventures including a restaurant, and the family lived a middle-class life in rented apartments.[26] Khan attendedSt. Columba's School in central Delhi where he excelled in his studies and in sports such as hockey and football,[27] and received the school's highest award, the Sword of Honour.[26] Initially Khan aspired to pursue a career in sports, however a shoulder injury in his early years meant that he could no longer play.[28] Instead, in his youth, he acted in stage plays and received praise for his imitations of Bollywood actors, of which his favourites wereDilip Kumar,Amitabh Bachchan, andMumtaz.[29] One of his childhood friends and acting partners wasAmrita Singh, who became aBollywood actress.[30] Khan enrolled atUniversity of Delhi’sHansraj College (1985–88) to earn his bachelor's degree ineconomics, but spent much of his time at Delhi's Theatre Action Group (TAG),[31] where he studied acting under the mentorship of theatre directorBarry John.[32][33] After graduating from Hansraj, he cleared the entrance exam for theIndian Institute of Technology (IIT), as his mother insisted that he attempt an engineering exam.[34][35] Khan then began studying for a master's degree inmass communication atJamia Millia Islamia, but left to pursue his acting career.[36][37] At Jamia, future filmmakerKabir Khan was his junior, and he would use Shah Rukh’s notes for study.[38] He also attended theNational School of Drama in Delhi during his early career in Bollywood.[39]
His father died of cancer in 1981,[f] and his mother died in 1991 from complications of diabetes.[42] After the death of their parents, his older sister, Shahnaz Lalarukh (born 1960)[43] fell into a depressed state and Khan took on the responsibility of caring for her.[40][44] Shahnaz continues to live with her brother and his family in theirMumbai mansion.[45]
Khan's first starring role was inLekh Tandon's television seriesDil Dariya, which began shooting in 1988, but production delays led to theRaj Kumar Kapoor directed 1989 seriesFauji becoming his television debut instead.[46] In the series, which depicted a realistic look at the training of army cadets, he played the leading role of Abhimanyu Rai.[47][48] This led to further appearances inAziz Mirza's television seriesCircus (1989–90) andMani Kaul's miniseriesIdiot (1992).[49] Khan also played minor parts in the serialsUmeed (1989) andWagle Ki Duniya (1988–90),[49] and in the English-languagetelevision filmIn Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989).[50] His appearances in these serials led critics to compare his look and acting style with those of the film actorDilip Kumar,[51] but Khan was not interested in film acting at the time, thinking that he was not good enough.[49][52]
Khan changed his decision to act in films in April 1991,[53] citing it as a way to escape the grief of his mother's death.[54] He moved from Delhi toMumbai to pursue a full-time career in Bollywood and was quickly signed to four films.[53] His first offer was forHema Malini's directorial debutDil Aashna Hai,[39][47] and by June, he had started his first shoot.[55] His film debut was inDeewana, which was released in June 1992.[56] In it he starred alongsideDivya Bharti as the second male lead behindRishi Kapoor.Deewana became a box office hit and launched Khan's Bollywood career;[57] he earned theFilmfare Best Male Debut Award for his performance.[58] Also released in 1992 were Khan's first films as the male lead,Chamatkar,Dil Aashna Hai, and the comedyRaju Ban Gaya Gentleman, which was his first of many collaborations with the actressJuhi Chawla.[59] His initial film roles saw him play characters who displayed energy and enthusiasm. According to Arnab Ray ofDaily News and Analysis, Khan brought a new kind of acting as he was "sliding down stairs on a slab of ice, cartwheeling, somersaulting, lips trembling, eyes trembling, bringing to the screen the kind of physical energy... visceral, intense, maniacal one moment and cloyingly boyish the next."[60]
1993–1994: Negative characters
Among his 1993 releases, Khan garnered the most appreciation for portraying villainous roles in two box office hits: a murderer inBaazigar, and an obsessive lover inDarr.[61] The former, in which Khan played an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked Indian audiences with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula.[62] InThe Cambridge Companion to Modern Indian Culture, Sonal Khullar called the character "the consummateanti-hero".[63] His performance inBaazigar, which would be his first of many appearances with actressKajol, won Khan his firstFilmfare Award for Best Actor.[64] In 2003, theEncyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema stated that Khan "defied the image of the conventional hero in both these films and created his own version of the revisionist hero".[64]Darr marked the first of Khan's many collaborations with filmmakerYash Chopra and his companyYash Raj Films. Khan's stammering and the use of the phrase "I love you, K-k-k-Kiran" were popular with audiences.[65] Malini Mannath ofThe Indian Express argued that he "walks away with the acting honours in yet another negative role".[66] ForDarr he received a nomination for theFilmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role, also known as the Best Villain Award, but lost toParesh Rawal forSir.[67] Also in 1993, Khan performed a nude scene withDeepa Sahi inMaya Memsaab, although parts of it were censored by theCentral Board of Film Certification.[68] The ensuing controversy prompted him to eschew such scenes in future roles.[69]
In 1994, Khan played a love-struck musician inKundan Shah's comedy-drama filmKabhi Haan Kabhi Naa oppositeDeepak Tijori andSuchitra Krishnamurthy, which he later professed was his favourite role. His performance earned him aFilmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, and in a retrospective review from 2004,Sukanya Verma ofRediff.com referred to it as Khan's best performance, calling him "spontaneous, vulnerable, boyish, mischievous and acting straight from the heart".[70] Also in 1994, Khan won the Filmfare Best Villain Award for his role as an obsessive lover inAnjaam, co-starringMadhuri Dixit.[64] At the time, playing antagonistic roles was considered risky to a leading man's career in mainstream Hindi cinema. Arnab Ray subsequently credited Khan for taking "insane risks" and "pushing the envelope" by choosing to play such characters, through which he established his career.[60] The directorMukul S. Anand called him "the new face of the industry" at the time.[54]
Khan starred in seven films in 1995, the first of which wasRakesh Roshan's melodramatic thrillerKaran Arjun. Co-starringSalman Khan and Kajol, it became the second-highest-grossing film of the year in India.[71] His most significant release that year wasAditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romanceDilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, in which he played a youngNon-resident Indian (NRI) who falls in love with Kajol's character during a trip across Europe. Khan was initially reticent to portray the role of a lover, but this film is credited with establishing him as a "romantic hero".[72] Lauded by both critics and the public, it became the year's highest grossing production in India and abroad and was declared an "all time blockbuster" byBox Office India,[71][73] with an estimated lifetime gross of₹2 billion (US$61.68 million) worldwide.[74][75] It is the longest-running film in the history of Indian cinema; it is still showing at theMaratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai after more than 1000 weeks as of early 2015.[76][77] The film won tenFilmfare Awards, including the second of Khan's Best Actor Awards.[64] The director and criticRaja Sen said, "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 [audience]. The performance itself is, like the best in the business, played well enough to come across as effortless, as non-acting."[78]
In 1996, all four of Khan's releases failed critically and commercially,[79] but the following year, his starring role oppositeAditya Pancholi and Juhi Chawla in Aziz Mirza's romantic comedyYes Boss earned him accolades that included a Filmfare Best Actor nomination.[67] Later in 1997, he starred inSubhash Ghai's diasporic-themed social dramaPardes,[80] portraying Arjun, a musician facing a moral dilemma.India Today cites it as one of the first major Bollywood pictures to succeed in the United States.[81] Khan's final release of 1997 was the second collaboration with Yash Chopra in the popular musical romanceDil To Pagal Hai. He portrayed Rahul, a stage director caught in alove triangle between Madhuri Dixit andKarisma Kapoor. The film and his performance met with critical praise, winning Khan his third Best Actor Award at Filmfare.[64]
Khan performed the lead role in three films and made one special appearance in 1998. In his first release of the year, he played a double role opposite Juhi Chawla andSonali Bendre in Mahesh Bhatt's action comedyDuplicate, the first of his many collaborations withYash Johar's production companyDharma Productions. The film was not well received,[82] butIndia Today lauded Khan for his energetic performance.[83] The same year, Khan won critical praise for his performance as anAll India Radio correspondent who develops an infatuation for a mysterious terrorist (Manisha Koirala) inDil Se..,[84] the third instalment ofMani Ratnam's trilogy of terror films.[85][86] In his final release of the year, he portrayed a college student inKaran Johar's romanceKuch Kuch Hota Hai, in which he was involved in a love triangle along with Kajol andRani Mukerji. The writer Anjana Motihar Chandra has referred to the picture asthe blockbuster of the 1990s, a "pot-pourri of romance, comedy, and entertainment."[87] Khan won the Best Actor award at the Filmfare Awards ceremony for the second consecutive year,[64] although he and several critics believed his performance to have been overshadowed by that of Kajol.[88]
The roles in this phase of his career, and the series of romantic comedies and family dramas that followed, earned Khan widespread adulation from audiences, particularly teenagers,[89] and according to the authorAnupama Chopra, established him as an icon of romance in India.[90][91] He continued to have frequent professional associations withYash Chopra, Aditya Chopra, andKaran Johar, who moulded his image and made him into a superstar.[92] Khan became a romantic leading man without ever actually kissing any of his co-stars,[90] although he broke this rule in 2012, after strong urging by Yash Chopra.[93]
1999–2003: Career fluctuations
Khan in 2000
Khan's only release in 1999 wasBaadshah, in which he starred oppositeTwinkle Khanna. Although the film underperformed at the box office,[94] it earned him a Filmfare Award nomination forBest Performance in a Comic Role.[67] Khan became a producer in 1999 in a collaboration with the actress Juhi Chawla and the director Aziz Mirza for a production company called Dreamz Unlimited.[95] The company's first production,Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000), starring Khan and Chawla, was a commercial failure.[96] It was released one week afterKaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, starringHrithik Roshan, then a newcomer, who critics believed overshadowed Khan.[97] Swapna Mitter of Rediff.com spoke of Khan's predictable mannerisms, saying "Frankly, it's high time he innovated his act a little."[98] Khan did a supporting role inKamal Haasan'sHey Ram (2000), which was made simultaneously inTamil andHindi. He thereby made his Tamil debut by playing the role of an archaeologist named Amjad Khan.[99] He performed free of charge as he wanted to work with Haasan.[100][101] On Khan's performance, T. Krithika Reddy ofThe Hindu wrote, "Shah Rukh Khan, as usual comes up with an impeccable performance."[99]
In 2001, Dreamz Unlimited attempted a comeback with Khan portraying the title role inSantosh Sivan's historical epicAśoka, a partly fictionalised account of the life of emperorAshoka. The film was screened at theVenice Film Festival and the2001 Toronto International Film Festival to a positive response,[102] but it performed poorly at Indian box offices.[103] As losses continued to mount for the production company,[97] Khan was forced to close srkworld.com, a company that he had started along with Dreamz Unlimited.[104] In December 2001, Khan suffered a spinal injury while performing an action sequence for a special appearance inKrishna Vamsi'sShakti: The Power.[105] He was subsequently diagnosed with aprolapsed disc, and attempted multiplealternative therapies. None of these provided a permanent solution to the injury, which caused him severe pain while shooting several of his films.[105][106] By the beginning of 2003, his condition had worsened to the point that he had to undergoanterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery atWellington Hospital, London.[107][108][109] Khan resumed shooting in June 2003, but he reduced his workload and the number of film roles he accepted annually.[106]
With co-starAishwarya Rai at the home video launch of their filmDevdas (2002)
Successes during this time included Aditya Chopra'sMohabbatein (2000), and Karan Johar's family dramaKabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001),[96][110] which Khan cites as a turning point in his career.[111] Both films co-starredAmitabh Bachchan as an authoritarian figure, and presented ideological struggles between the two men.[112][113] Khan's performances in the films were met with wide public appreciation, and he was awarded his secondFilmfare Critics Award for Best Actor forMohabbatein.[67][114]Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham remained the top-grossing Indian production of all time in the overseas market for the next five years.[115]
In 2002, Khan played the title role as a rebellious alcoholic opposite Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit inSanjay Leela Bhansali's period romanceDevdas. At a cost of over₹500 million (US$10.29 million), it was the most expensive Bollywood film ever made at the time,[116] and became a box office success, earning approximately₹1.68 billion ($35 million) worldwide.[117] The film earned numerous accolades including 10 Filmfare Awards, with Best Actor for Khan,[58] and aBAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.[118] Khan next starred inKal Ho Naa Ho (2003), a comedy-drama written by Karan Johar and set in New York City, which became the second-highest-grossing film domestically and the top-grossing Bollywood film in external markets that year.[110][119] Co-starring withJaya Bachchan,Saif Ali Khan, andPreity Zinta, Khan received critical praise for his portrayal of Aman Mathur, a man with a fatal heart disease, with critics praising his emotional impact upon audiences.[120] Conflict broke out between Khan and the other partners of Dreamz Unlimited over the failure to cast Juhi Chawla in their 2003 production of Aziz Mirza'sChalte Chalte, and they parted ways, despite the film's success.[121]
2004–2009: Comeback
2004 was a critically and commercially successful year for Khan. He transformed Dreamz Unlimited intoRed Chillies Entertainment, adding his wife Gauri as a producer.[122] In the company's first production, he starred inFarah Khan's directorial debut, themasala filmMain Hoon Na. A fictionalised account ofIndia–Pakistan relations, it was viewed by some commentators as a conscious effort to move away from the stereotypical portrayal of Pakistan as the constant villain.[123] Khan then played an Indian Air Force pilot who falls in love with a Pakistani woman (Preity Zinta) in Yash Chopra's romance filmVeer-Zaara, which was screened at the55th Berlin Film Festival to critical praise.[124] It was the highest earning film of 2004 in India, with a worldwide gross of over₹940 million (US$20.74 million), andMain Hoon Na was the second-highest earner with₹680 million (US$15.01 million).[115][125]
In his final release of 2004, Khan starred as aNASA scientist who patriotically returns to India to rekindle his roots inAshutosh Gowariker's social dramaSwades (meaning "Homeland"), which became the first Indian picture to be shot inside the NASA research centre at theKennedy Space Center in Florida.[126] Film scholar Stephen Teo refers to the picture as an example of "Bollywoodised realism", displaying a transcendence in conventional narrative and audience expectation in Hindi cinema.[127] In December 2013,The Times of India reported that Khan found filming the picture such an emotionally overwhelming and life-changing experience that he had still not viewed the film.[128]Derek Elley ofVariety found Khan's performance "unsettling" as "a self-satisfied expatriate determined to bring Western values to poor Indian peasants",[129] but several film critics, including Jitesh Pillai, believed it to have been his finest acting to date.[130][131] He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his 2004 releases and eventually won the award forSwades.[58][67]Filmfare later included his performance in the 2010 issue of Bollywood's "Top 80 Iconic Performances".[132]
In 2005, Khan starred inAmol Palekar's fantasy drama,Paheli. The film was India's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the79th Academy Awards.[133] He later collaborated with Karan Johar for the third time in the musical romantic dramaKabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), in which he played an unhappily married man who has an extramarital affair with a married woman. The film, which featured an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan,Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Preity Zinta andKirron Kher, emerged as India's highest-grossing film in the overseas market,[110] earning more than₹1.13 billion (US$25.62 million) worldwide.[115] Both his roles inKabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and the action filmDon, a remake of the1978 film of the same name, earned Khan Best Actor nominations at the Filmfare Awards,[134] despite his performance as thetitular character inDon being negatively compared to that of Amitabh Bachchan in the original film.[135][136]
"Such great things have happened to such a normal guy like me. I am a nobody who shouldn't have been able to do all this but I have done it. I tell everyone that there's this myth I work for; there is this myth called Shahrukh Khan and I am his employee. I have to live up to that ... I'll do it, I am an actor. But I can't start believing in this myth."
—Khan reflecting in 2007 on his position as the Hindi film industry's top star[137]
In 2007, Khan portrayed a disgraced hockey player who coached theIndian women's national hockey team to World Cup success in Yash Raj Films' semi-fictionalChak De! India. Bhaichand Patel notes that Khan, who had a background in the sport playing for his university's hockey team,[138] essentially portrayed himself as a "cosmopolitan, liberal, Indian Muslim".[139] Faring well in both India and abroad,[115][140] Khan garnered another Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance,[58] whichRajeev Masand ofCNN-IBN considers to have been "without any of his typical trappings, without any of his trademark quirks", portraying Kabir Khan "like a real flesh-and-blood human being".[141]Filmfare included his performance in their 2010 issue of the "Top 80 Iconic Performances".[142] In the same year, Khan starred alongsideArjun Rampal,Deepika Padukone andShreyas Talpade in Farah Khan's reincarnation melodramaOm Shanti Om, portraying a 1970s junior artiste who is reborn as a 2000s era superstar. The film became the highest grossing Indian motion picture of 2007, both domestically and abroad.[110][143]Om Shanti Om earned Khan his second nomination of the year for Best Actor at Filmfare.[144] Khalid Mohammed fromHindustan Times wrote, "the enterprise belongs to Shah Rukh Khan, who tackles comedy, high drama and action with his signature style—spontaneous and intuitively intelligent".[145]
Khan collaborated for the third time with Aditya Chopra on the romantic comedyRab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) opposite debutanteAnushka Sharma. He played Surinder Sahni, a shy man with low self-esteem, whose love for his young arranged wife (Sharma) causes him to transform himself into Raj, a boisterous alter-ego. Rachel Saltz ofThe New York Times believed the dual role to have been "tailor-made" for Khan, allowing him to display his talents,[146] although Deep Contractor fromEpilogue thought Khan displayed greater strength in the role of Surinder and weakness in the role of monologue-prone Raj.[147] In December 2008, Khan suffered a shoulder injury while filming a small role inMudassar Aziz'sDulha Mil Gaya. He underwent extensive physiotherapy sessions at the time but the pain left him almost immobile and he hadarthroscopic surgery in February 2009.[148][149] He performed a special appearance in the 2009 filmBillu, playing Bollywood superstar Sahir Khan—a fictionalised version of himself, wherein he performed musicalitem numbers with actresses Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Deepika Padukone.[150] As head of the film's production company, Red Chillies, Khan made the call to change the title of the film fromBillu Barber toBillu after hairdressers across the country complained that the word "barber" was derogatory. The company covered up the offending word on billboards that had already been installed with the original title.[151]
After refusing the role that subsequently went toAnil Kapoor inDanny Boyle'sSlumdog Millionaire (2008), Khan began shootingMy Name Is Khan (2010), his fourth collaboration with director Karan Johar and his sixth with Kajol.[152] The film is based on a true story and set against the backdrop of perceptions of Islam after the11 September attacks. Khan plays Rizwan Khan, a Muslim suffering from mildAsperger syndrome who sets out on a journey across America to meet the country's president, a role that film scholar Stephen Teo sees as a "symbol of assertiverasa values" and another example of Khan representing NRI identity in global Bollywood.[153] To provide an accurate portrayal of a sufferer without disparagement, Khan spent several months researching his role by reading books, watching videos and talking to people affected by the condition.[154][155] Upon release,My Name is Khan became one of the highest grossing Bollywood films of all time outside India,[115][110] and earned Khan his eighth Filmfare Award for Best Actor,[58] equalling the record for the most wins in the category withDilip Kumar.[156] Jay Wesissberg fromVariety noted how Khan portrayed the Asperger's sufferer with "averted eyes, springy steps, [and] stuttered repetitions of memorized texts", believing it to have been a "standout performance sure to receive the Autism Society's gold seal of approval".[157]
In 2011, Khan starred alongside Arjun Rampal and Kareena Kapoor inAnubhav Sinha's superhero filmRa.One, his first work in this subgenre, as a favour to his children.[158] The film follows the story of a London-based video game designer who creates a villainous character who escapes into the real world. It was billed as Bollywood's most expensive production; it had an estimated budget of₹1.25 billion (US$26.78 million).[159][160] Despite negative media coverage of the film's box office performance,Ra.One was a financial success with a gross of₹2.4 billion (US$51.42 million).[161][162] The film, and Khan's portrayal of a dual role, received mixed reviews; while most critics praised his performance as the robotic superhero G.One, they criticised his portrayal of the video game designer Shekhar.[163] Khan's second release of 2011 wasDon 2, a sequel toDon (2006).[164] To prepare for his role, Khan exercised extensively as he performed most of the stunts himself.[165] His performance earned him positive reviews from critics;Nikhat Kazmi ofThe Times of India said, "Shah Rukh remains in command and never loses his foothold, neither through the dramatic sequences nor through the action cuts".[166] The year's highest grossing Bollywood production abroad,[167][168] it was showcased at the62nd Berlin International Film Festival.[169]
Khan's only release in 2012 was Yash Chopra'sswan song,[170] the romantic dramaJab Tak Hai Jaan, which saw him once again in a romantic role, starring oppositeKatrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. CNN-IBN considered the overall performance by Khan to have been one of his finest to date, but believed that Khan's first screen kiss of his career with Katrina Kaif, twenty years his junior, was an awkward one.[93][171]Jab Tak Hai Jaan was a moderate financial success earning over₹2.11 billion (US$39.49 million) worldwide.[172][173] The film was showcased at the 2012Marrakech International Film Festival in Morocco, along withKabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,Veer-Zaara, andDon 2.[174] At the followingZee Cine Awards, Khan performed a tribute to the late Yash Chopra along with Kaif, Sharma, and several of Chopra's other past heroines.[175]
In 2013, Khan starred inRohit Shetty's action comedyChennai Express for Red Chillies Entertainment, a film which earned mixed critical reviews and extensive criticism for its perceived disparagement of South Indian culture, though the film included a tribute toTamil cinema starRajinikanth.[176] Critic Khalid Mohamed thought that Khan overacted in the film and criticised him for "re-rendering every old trick in the acting book".[177] Despite the criticism, the film broke many box office records for Hindi films in both India and abroad, surpassing3 Idiots to briefly become thehighest grossing Bollywood film of all time, with a gross of almost₹4 billion (US$68.26 million) in worldwide ticket sales.[178][179] OnInternational Women's Day in 2013,The Times of India reported that Khan had requested a new convention with the name of his lead female co-stars appearing above his own in the credits. He claimed that the women in his life, including his co-stars, have been the reason for his success.[180] In 2014, the actor was featured in Farah Khan's ensemble action comedyHappy New Year, which co-starred Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan andBoman Irani; his third collaboration with the director.[181] Although Khan's unidimensional character was criticised,[182] the film became a major commercial success grossing₹3.8 billion (US$64.85 million) worldwide.[183][184][185]
2015–2022: Career setbacks and hiatus
Khan in 2017
Khan next appeared alongside Kajol,Varun Dhawan andKriti Sanon in Rohit Shetty's action comedyDilwale (2015). The film garnered mixed reviews, though it was financially profitable with a gross of₹3.7 billion (US$57.68 million).[186]Namrata Joshi ofThe Hindu commented, "WithDilwale, Rohit Shetty goes hopelessly wrong despite much that he had at his disposal, including a power-packed cast and producer", and felt that the attempt to repackage Khan and Kajol had backfired.[187] He then took on dual parts of a superstar and his doppelgänger fan inManeesh Sharma's action thrillerFan (2016).Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian considered the film to be "exhausting, bizarre yet watchable" and thought that Khan was aptly "creepy" as the obsessive admirer.[188] The film underperformed at the box office, and trade journalists attributed this failure to the film's non-conformity to mainstream formula.[189] Later that year, Khan portrayed the supporting part of a therapist to an aspiring cinematographer (Alia Bhatt) inGauri Shinde's coming-of-age filmDear Zindagi.[190]
InRahul Dholakia's action crime filmRaees (2017), Khan took on the part of the titular anti-hero—a bootlegger turned mobster in 1980sGujarat. In a typical mixed review, Pratim D. Gupta ofThe Telegraph thought Khan's performance to be "inconsistent, intense and power-packed at times, but often slipping out of character into his usual mix of stock mannerisms".[191] Commercially, the film was a modest success, earning about₹3.08 billion (US$47.3 million) worldwide.[192][193] Khan returned to the romantic genre with the role of a tourist guide who falls in love with a traveller (Anushka Sharma) inImtiaz Ali'sJab Harry Met Sejal (2017). In a review forMint, Uday Bhatia criticised Khan's pairing with Sharma, 22 years his junior, writing that Khan had performed "similar gestures of love decades ago to actors his own age".[194] He reunited with Sharma and Katrina Kaif inAanand L Rai's romantic dramaZero (2018), in which he played Bauua Singh, a dwarf involved in a love triangle.[195][196] The film received mixed reviews with praise directed to Khan's performance.[197][198] Writing forHindustan Times, Raja Sen commended his "dominating performance and tremendous energy" andAnna M. M. Vetticad ofFirstpost called him an "excellent fit" for the role for allowing his "naturally energetic personality, comic timing and charm to take flight".[199][200] BothJab Harry Met Sejal andZero were box office flops.[201][202]
According to aBox Office India report, Khan's stardom was impacted by his films failing to do well.[203] Following the release ofZero, Khan took a four-year break from full-time acting, which was partly caused by theCOVID-19 pandemic in India. He took the time off to attempt a career comeback.[204] During this period, he made extended special appearances in the 2022 filmsBrahmāstra: Part One – Shiva andRocketry: The Nambi Effect.[205]
2023–present: Resurgence
In 2023, Khan reunited with Yash Raj Films in the action thrillerPathaan (2023), set in theYRF Spy Universe, in which he played an exiled field agent assigned to stop a terrorist attack in India.[206] Critic Sukanya Verma took note of Khan's "weathered intensity, grizzly charisma and trademark wit", whileKaveree Bamzai termed it a "much-needed makeover" of an ageing Khan into an action star.[207][208]Pathaan broke several box-office records, thus re-establishing Khan's stardom.[209][210] Khan took on another action film role in the same year inAtlee'sJawan, playing father and son doppelgängers.[211] Nandini Ramnath ofScroll.in wrote that "Khan's screen image – expansive, suffused with love, heroic in an old-fashioned way without being aggressively macho, irreverent but also sincere – helps sell a conceit that might have crashed with any other actor".[212]Jawan broke the records set byPathaan.[213] Both films grossed over₹10 billion (US$120 million) to rank, respectively, as Hindi cinema's second and third biggest grossers worldwide,[214] making Khan the first Indian actor to deliver two films that earned over ₹10 billion.[215] For his performance inJawan, he received his firstNational Film Award forBest Actor in a Leading Role.[216][217]
In his final release of 2023, Khan starred inRajkumar Hirani'sDunki, a social drama about anillegal immigration technique nameddonkey flight.[218][219] Uday Bhatia wrote that his role as a "romantic feminist soldier patriot friend" marked "a break from Khan the action star but offers no respite from the Khan the perfect screen idol".[220] Grossing over₹4 billion (US$47 million),Dunki emerged as Khan's third consecutive commercial success of the year, although it did not match up to the record grosses ofPathaan orJawan.[221]
Khan will continue his work in action films when starring with his daughter inSiddharth Anand'sKing, which will release in 2026.[222]
Khan co-produced three films from 1999 to 2003 as a founding member of the partnership Dreamz Unlimited.[95] After the partnership was dissolved, he and Gauri restructured the company as Red Chillies Entertainment,[122] which includes divisions dealing with film and television production, visual effects, and advertising.[223] As of 2015, the company has produced or co-produced at least nine films.[224] Either Khan or Gauri are usually given production credits, and he has appeared in most of the films, either in the lead role, or in a guest appearance. Khan was involved in several aspects of the making ofRa.One (2011). Aside from acting, he produced the film, volunteered to write the console game script, dubbed for it, oversaw its technical development, and wrote the digital comics based on the film's characters.[225][226] Khan has occasionally doneplayback singing for his films. InJosh (2000) he sang the popular song "Apun Bola Tu Meri Laila". He also sang inDon (2006) andJab Tak Hai Jaan (2012).[227] ForAlways Kabhi Kabhi (2011), which was produced by Red Chillies, Khan participated in the lyrical composition.[228]
Khan is a frequent stage performer and has participated in several world tours and concerts. In 1997, he performed inAsha Bhosle's Moments in Time concert in Malaysia, and returned the following year to perform with Karisma Kapoor for the Shahrukh–Karisma: Live in Malaysia concert.[236] The same year, he participated in The Awesome Foursome world tour across the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States along with Juhi Chawla,Akshay Kumar and Kajol, and resumed the tour in Malaysia the following year.[237][238] In 2002, Khan featured with Amitabh Bachchan,Aamir Khan, Preity Zinta, andAishwarya Rai in the show From India With Love atManchester'sOld Trafford andLondon'sHyde Park; the event was attended by more than 100,000 people.[239] Khan performed alongsideRani Mukherji,Arjun Rampal andIshaa Koppikar in a 2010 concert at theSt. Joseph High School field inDhaka, Bangladesh.[240] The next year he joinedShahid Kapoor andPriyanka Chopra in the Friendship Concert, celebrating 150 years ofIndia–South Africa friendship inDurban, South Africa.[241]
Khan started an association with the "Temptations" series of concert tours by singing, dancing, and performing skits alongside Arjun Rampal,Priyanka Chopra, and other Bollywood stars in Temptations 2004, a stage show that toured 22 venues across the world.[242] The show played to 15,000 spectators atDubai's Festival City Arena.[243] In 2008, Khan set up Temptation Reloaded, a series of concerts that toured several countries, including the Netherlands.[244] He performed alongsideDino Morea,Rani Mukerji, andDia Mirza at theAirtel-Bindass concert tour in 2008.[245][246] Another tour was held withBipasha Basu and others in 2012 inJakarta,[247] and in 2013 another series of concerts visited Auckland, Perth and Sydney.[248] In 2014, Khan performed in SLAM! The Tour in the US, Canada, and London,[249] and also hosted the Indian premiere of the live talent show, Got Talent World Stage Live.[250]
Ownership of Kolkata Knight Riders
In 2008, Khan, in partnership with Juhi Chawla and her husbandJay Mehta, acquired ownership rights for the franchise representingKolkata in theTwenty20 cricket tournamentIndian Premier League (IPL) forUS$75.09million, and named the teamKolkata Knight Riders (KKR).[251] As of 2009[update], KKR was one of the richest teams in the IPL, with a brand value ofUS$42.1million.[252] The team performed poorly on the field during the first three years.[253] Their performance improved over time, and they became the champions for the first time in2012[253] and repeated the feat in2014.[254] The Knight Riders hold the record for the longest winning streak by any Indian team in T20s (14).[255] They won their third IPL title in the2024 edition.[256]
Khan performed alongsideSunidhi Chauhan andShriya Saran at the opening ceremony of theIPL 2011 season, where they danced to Tamil songs.[257] He appeared again in 2013 alongside Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone andPitbull.[258] In May 2012, theMumbai Cricket Association (MCA) banned him from theWankhede Stadium for five years for getting into an argument with the security staff after a match between KKR and theMumbai Indians.[259] Khan had, however, stated that he acted only after children, including his daughter, were being "manhandled" by the security staff[259][260] and that the officials were extremely high-handed and aggressive in their behaviour,[261] he had been abused with communal indecent comment.[260] Later MCA officials had accused him of being drunk in one version of the story, hitting the guard and of completely uncharacteristically abusing a female supporter of Mumbai Indians after the match in another version of the story, which Khan had maintained it was done to support their action and for cheap publicity.[260][262][263] Wankhede guard later contradicted MCA officials' claim and said Shah Rukh Khan had not hit him.[260] Khan later apologised to his fans after his team won the final match.[264] MCA revoked the ban in 2015[265] and in 2016, Mumbai Police informed that no 'cognisable offence' was made out against Khan and they had come to the conclusion that Shah Rukh Khan was not drunk and did not use abusive language before minors at the Wankhede Stadium in 2012.[262][263]
Appearances in music videos
In February 2019, Khan made a special appearance in the music video of the songBIBA, featuringMarshmello andShirley Setia, and composed byPritam. The video, inspired by Khan's memorable films, received positive response from fans, and Khan's cameo was well received.[266]
In June 2025, Khan appeared in anEd Sheeran songSapphire, which also featured vocals fromArijit Singh.[267] The video was shot across various parts of India, and the song received acclaim from critics and fans.[268]
Khan receives a considerable amount of media coverage in India, and is often referred to as "King Khan", "TheBaadshah of Bollywood", or "The King of Bollywood".[b]Anupama Chopra cites him as an "ever present celebrity", with two or three films a year, constantly running television ads, print ads, and gigantic billboards lining the streets of Indian cities.[274] He is the object of a sometimes fanatical following, with a fan base estimated to exceed one billion.[275]Newsweek named Khan as one of their fifty most powerful people globally in 2008 and called him "the world's biggest movie star".[276][277] In 2011 he was described as "the biggest movie star you've never heard of ... perhaps the world's biggest movie star, period" by Steven Zeitchik of theLos Angeles Times[g][279] and has been called the world's biggest movie star in other international media outlets.[c] According to a popularity survey, 3.2 billion people around the world know Khan, more than who knowTom Cruise.[283] In a 2022 readers' poll byEmpire magazine, Khan was listed as one of the 50 greatest actors of all time. The magazine attributed his success to the "outrageous amounts of [his] charisma and absolute mastery of [his] craft. Comfortable in almost every genre going, there's pretty much nothing he can't do."[284] In 2023,Time magazine named him one of the100 most influential people in the world,[285] and he topped the list per a readers poll.[286]
Khan is one of the wealthiest celebrities in India, topping theForbes India's "Celebrity 100 list" in 2012, 2013 and 2015.[287][288][289] His wealth has been estimated at US$400–600million.[290][291] Khan owns several properties in India and abroad, including a£20 million apartment in London,[292] and a villa on thePalm Jumeirah inDubai.[293] From 2023–2024, Khan ranked as the highest tax payer in India.[294]
Khan frequently appears on listings of the most popular, stylish and influential people in India. He has regularly featured among the top ten onThe Times of India's list of the 50 most desirable men in India,[295][296] and in a 2007 poll by the magazineEastern Eye he was named the sexiest man in Asia.[297] Khan is often referred to as "Brand SRK" by media organisations because of his many brand endorsement and entrepreneurship ventures.[298][299] He is one of the highest paid Bollywood endorsers and one of the most visible celebrities in television advertising, with up to a six per cent share of the television advertisement market.[300][301] Khan has endorsed brands includingPepsi,Nokia,Hyundai,Dish TV, D'decor,LUX andTAG Heuer.[301][302] Books have been published about him,[303][304] and his popularity has been documented in several non-fiction films, including the two-part documentaryThe Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan (2005),[305] and theDiscovery Travel & Living channel's ten-part miniseriesLiving with a Superstar—Shah Rukh Khan (2010).[300] In 2007, Khan became the third Indian actor to have his wax statue installed at London'sMadame Tussauds museum, after Aishwarya Rai and Amitabh Bachchan.[306][307] Additional versions of the statue were installed at Madame Tussauds' museums in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, New York and Washington.[308]
Khan has been brand ambassador of various governmental campaigns, includingPulse Polio and theNational AIDS Control Organisation.[302] He is a member of the board of directors of theMake-A-Wish Foundation in India,[309] and in 2011 he was appointed byUNOPS as the first global ambassador of theWater Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.[310] He has recorded a series of public service announcements championing good health and proper nutrition, and joined India's Health Ministry andUNICEF in a nationwide child immunisation campaign.[311] In 2011, he receivedUNESCO's Pyramide con Marni award for his charitable commitment to provide education for children, becoming the first Indian to win the accolade.[312] In 2014, Khan became the ambassador for Interpol's campaign "Turn Back Crime".[313] In 2015, Khan received a privileged degree from theUniversity of Edinburgh, Scotland.[314] In 2018, Khan was honoured by theWorld Economic Forum with their annual Crystal Award for his leadership in championing children's and women's rights in India.[315][316]
In April 2020, Khan announced a series of initiatives to help the government of India and the state governments of Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Delhi mitigate theCOVID-19 pandemic as well as relief measures for thousands of underprivileged people and daily wage labourers affected by thelockdown.[322][323] He offered his 4-storey personal office space to theBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to be used as a quarantine centre for coronavirus patients.[324]
On 5 May 2025, Khan attended theMet Gala inManhattan, becoming the first Bollywood male actor to do so and making his debut appearance.[325] His outfit was designed by fashion designerSabyasachi Mukherjee.[326]
Khan marriedGauri Chibber, aPunjabi Hindu, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony on 25 October 1991, after a six-year courtship.[335][336] They have a sonAryan (born 1997)[337] and a daughterSuhana (born 2000).[338] In 2013, they became parents of a third child named AbRam,[339] who was born through a surrogate mother.[340] Both his elder children have made their debut in the entertainment industry; Khan has stated that Aryan studied filmmaking at theUSC School of Cinematic Arts inCalifornia, co-wrote and directed a Netflix series calledThe Ba***ds of Bollywood,[341][342] while Suhana, who served as assistant director for Khan's filmZero (2018), has studied drama and acting atNYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She made her debut in the NetflixThe Archies.[343][344] Suhana made her acting debut in November 2019, in a short film titledThe Grey Part of Blue.[345] According to Khan, while he strongly believes inIslam, he also values his wife's religion. His children follow both religions; at his home theQur'an is situated next to themurti ofHindu deities.[346]
Although Khan was given the birth name Shahrukh Khan, he prefers his name to be written as Shah Rukh Khan, and is commonly referred to by the initialism SRK.[347]
In addition to his family life, Khan has been the subject of media speculation regarding his alleged relationship with actress Priyanka Chopra. Rumours of an affair between the two circulated widely in the early 2010s, though both actors publicly dismissed or avoided comment on the subject.[348] In 2025, advertising professional Prahlad Kakkar suggested that Chopra had regarded the alleged affair as "serious and personal," while also noting her decision not to address the rumours publicly.[349] Friends of Khan, including film producer Vivek Vaswani, have dismissed such reports, describing him as "a one-woman man" devoted to his wife.[350] No confirmation of a romantic relationship between Khan and Chopra has ever been made by either party.[349]
As of October 2025, Khan has a net worth of $1.4 billion.[351]
^abAlthough Shahrukh Khan's mother was reported to be the adopted daughter ofShah Nawaz Khan, a major general in theIndian National Army, theIndian Army denied those reports.[10] According to Khan, his father was related to Shah Nawaz.[11]
^There was some confusion because Khan seemingly contradicted himself in an interview, saying that he was born and brought up in Mangalore[23] but he later confirmed his birthplace as Delhi, and that he was brought up in Mangalore for the first five years.[22]
^Chopra's 2007 book gave the date as 19 September 1980,[40] and in an interview in 2014 Khan specified the date was 19 October 1981.[41]
^Although Khan has an estimated worldwide fan base exceeding one billion, the bulk of his fan base, like numerous other Bollywood stars, is in Asia and Indian diaspora communities worldwide, whereas Zeitchik was writing for an American audience in theLos Angeles Times.[278]
^Awards in certain categories come without a prior nomination.
^Kool, Vinod K.; Agrawal, Rita (2020).Gandhi and the Psychology of Nonviolence, Volume 1: Scientific Roots and Development.Springer Nature. p. 55.ISBN978-3-030-56865-8.Khan founded the Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God), the followers of which were commonly referred to as 'red shirts.' What attracted people to him? It was the same values that drew people in large numbers to Gandhi—integrity of character coupled with a total commitment to the philosophy and practice of nonviolence and the unwavering belief in a united India.
^abcdKhan, Omer Farooq (19 March 2010)."SRK's ancestral home traced to Pakistan".The Times of India.Archived from the original on 1 July 2015. Retrieved19 October 2014.There is a strong misperception about Shah Rukh's identity who is widely considered as a Pathan. In fact, his entire family speaks Hindko language. His ancestors came from Kashmir and settled in Peshawar centuries back, revealed Maqsood. This may disappoint many of Shah Rukh's Pashto speaking fans who consider him a Pathan by origin. Shah Rukh's family also contradicted the claim that his grandfather Jan Muhammad was from Afghanistan.
^"Shahrukh's cousins eager to meet him".Dawn. 26 July 2005.Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved4 November 2015.Mr Ahmed said that the celebrity understood Hindko and loved to speak in his mother-tongue despite having been born away from Hindko speaking area. However, he could not speak the language fluently, he added.
^"Shah Rukh Khan".Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica. Retrieved3 November 2024.Shah Rukh Khan attended Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, India.
^Ahmad, Azman (30 October 1999)."Shah Rukh! Shah Rukh!".The Malay Mail. Archived fromthe original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved23 June 2014 – via Highbeam.
^Sillito, David (30 April 2002)."From India with Love".BBC News.Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved28 November 2011.
^abChattopadhyay, Dhiman; Subramanian, Anusha (21 February 2010)."SRK Inc".Business Today. Archived fromthe original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved4 February 2012.
^Pisharoty, Sangeeta Barooah (16 October 2011)."Time we talk about sanitation".The Hindu.Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved13 December 2011.
Gehlawat, Ajay (2020). "Having It Both Ways: The Janus-Like Career of Kareena Kapoor".Stardom in contemporary Hindi cinema: celebrity and fame in globalized times. Singapore: Springer Nature. pp. 89–104.ISBN9789811501913.
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