SHAH RUKH KHAN, is a highly-acclaimed
award-winnng Indian film actor who works in Bollywood films, 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 with the commercially successful Deewana (1992). Since then,
he has been part of numerous commercial successes and has delivered a
variety of critically acclaimed performances. During his years in the
Indian film industry, he has won thirteen Filmfare Awards, seven of
which are in the Best Actor category.
While some of Khan's
best-known films: Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Kuch Kuch Hota
Hai (1998), Chak De India (2007) and Om Shanti Om (2007), remain some of
Bollywood's biggest hits, films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001),
Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
(2006) have been top-grossing productions in the overseas market, making
Khan one of the most successful actors of Hindi cinema. 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. In 2008, Newsweek named him
one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.
Khan was born in
1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India. His
father, Taj Mohammed Khan, was an Indian freedom fighter from Peshawar,
British India. His mother, Lateef Fatima, was the adopted daughter of
Major General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Janjua Rajput clan. He served as a
General in the Indian National Army of Subash Chandra Bose. Khan's
father came to New Delhi from Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar before
the partition of India, while his mother's family came from Rawalpindi,
British India. Khan has an elder sister named Shehnaz.
In a
recent interview with Ariana Afghan Television, Shahrukh Khan has
claimed that his grandfather is from Afghanistan and he himself been to
Afghanistan and speaks some Farsi as well.
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 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.
After the death of his parents, Khan moved to Mumbai
in 1991. In that same year, before any of his films were released, he
married Gauri Khan (who is a Hindu) in a traditional Hindu wedding
ceremony on 25 October 1991. They have two children, son Aryan Khan (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 gods.
Khan has been awarded a number of honours. In
April 2007, a life-size wax statue of Khan was installed at the Madame
Tussauds Wax Museum, London. 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”.
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 honored for "promoting tourism in Malacca"
by filming One Two Ka Four there in 2001. Some were critical of this
decision.
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." Khan made his acting
debut in 1988 when he appeared in the television series, Fauji, playing
the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. 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. 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, Khan made his Bollywood movie
debut in Deewana (1992). The movie became a box office hit, and launched
his career in Bollywood. His performance won him a Filmfare Best Male
Debut Award. His second movie, Maya Memsaab, generated some controversy
because of his appearance in an "explicit" sex scene in the movie. In
1993, he won his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in
Baazigar. Later, in 1995, Khan starred in Aditya Chopra's directorial
debut Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a critical and commercial success,
for which he won his second Filmfare Best Actor Award and which entered
its twelfth year in 2007 in Mumbai theaters. By then the movie had
grossed over 12 billion rupees, making it as one of the biggest movie
blockbusters. 1996 was a disappointing year, however, as the movies he
released that year failed to do well at the box office.
He later
starred in a number of successful films including Yash Chopra's Dil to
Pagal Hai (which became that year's second highest grossing movie and
for which won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award), Subhash Ghai's
Pardes (one of the biggest hits of the year), and Karan Johar's 1998
debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (another box office "hit"). He also won
acclaim for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se which did not do
well in the Indian box office, but was a commercial success overseas.
Khan's only release in 1999, Baadshah, was an average grosser.
2000s
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 won him his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He
also starred in Mansoor Khan's Josh, which was also a box office
success. In that same year, Khan set up his own production house, Dreamz
Unlimited with Juhi Chawla. Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first
movie of their production house, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. His work
with Karan Johar continued as he collaborated on 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. Khan also starred in the 2002 remake of Sharat Chandra
Chattopadhyay's well-known novel Devdas, which was one of the biggest
hits of that year. Additional box office hits included Hum Tumhare Hain
Sanam, which did well at the box office, and Yash Chopra's Veer-Zaara,
which was the biggest hit of 2004 in both India and overseas. Khan's
performance in the film won him awards at several award ceremonies. In
that same year, he received critical praise for his performance in
Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades, which won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award
for the sixth time, although the movie was a box office failure. He was
nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for all three of his
releases in 2004, winning it for Swades. Khan's collaborative work with
Karan Johar continued with Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna which did well in India
and much more so in the overseas market. He also starred in the 2006
remake of the 1978 hit Don which was a box-office success.
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.
and was critically acclaimed. 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, as well as
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
and Billu Barber which is soon to be released.
Current work
Khan
is currently in Los Angeles filming My Name is Khan, due for a November
release. Along with his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a
break from filming to attend the 66th Golden Globe Awards also held in
Los Angeles on 11 January 2009. Khan introduced Slumdog Millionaire
along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto.
Producer
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. However, his third
film, as a producer and star, Chalte Chalte (2003), was the first box
office hit from his production house.
In 2004, he set up another
production company called Red Chillies Entertainment and produced and
starred in Main Hoon Na which was another hit at the box office. In 2005
he produced and starred in the fantasy film Paheli, which was a box
office failure. It was India's official entry to the Oscars for a
nomination for Best Foreign Film, but it did not pass the final
selection. That same year he also 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. The latest film Om Shanti Om, which he produced as well as
starred in, has done very well at the box office. In 2008, The Red
Chillies Entertainment became the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders in the
BCCI backed IPL cricket league.
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?. 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 and later ended on 19 April 2007.
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?,
whose last episode was telecasted on 27 July 2008, with Lalu Prasad
Yadav as the special guest.