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| Shahrukh Khan |
Since 2000, Shahrukh 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. Globally, Khan is considered to be one of the biggest movie stars, with a fan following claimed to number in the billions In 2008, Newsweek named him one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.
Biography
Shahrukh Khan was born in 1965 to Muslim parents of Pathan descent in New Delhi, India. His father, Taj Mohammed Khan, 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 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. He 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.
Growing up in Rajendra Nagar neighbourhood, Shahrukh 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 (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 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 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 deities.
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| Shahrukh Khan |
Film career
Background
Shahrukh 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, "The credit for the phenomenally successful development and management of Shahrukh's career goes to the superstar himself." Khan started shooting for Lekh Tandon's television series Dil Dariya, but its delay meant that he made his acting debut with the 1988 television series, Fauji, playing the leading role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai. He went on to appear in other television serials, such as 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. When Khan appeared in those teleserials, people found in him some resemblance with actor Dilip Kumar and also compared his acting style with the latter's.
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. He went on to star in Maya Memsaab, which generated some controversy because of his appearance in an "explicit" sex scene in the movie.
In 1993, Shahrukh Khan won acclaim for his performances in villainous roles as an obsessive lover and a murderer, respectively, in the box office hits, Darr and Baazigar. In Khan's entry in Encyclopædia Britannica's "Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema" it was stated that "he defied the image of the conventional hero in both these films and created his own version of the revisionist hero." Darr marked his first collaboration with renowned film-maker Yash Chopra and his banner Yash Raj Films, the largest production company in Bollywood. Baazigar, which saw Khan portraying an ambiguous avenger who murders his girlfriend, shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula. His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award. In that same year, Khan played the role of a young musician in Kundan Shah's Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, a performance that earned him a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Khan maintains that this is his all-time favourite among the movies he has acted in. In 1994, Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho's role in Anjaam, co-starring alongside Madhuri Dixit. Though the movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the Filmfare Best Villain Award.
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| Shahrukh Khan |
1996 was a disappointing year for Shahrukh Khan as all his movies released that year failed to do well at the box office. This was, however, followed by a comeback in 1997. He saw success with Subhash Ghai's social drama Pardes – one of the biggest hits of the year – and Aziz Mirza's comedy Yes Boss, a moderately successful feature. His second project with Yash Chopra as a director, Dil to Pagal Hai became that year's second highest-grossing movie, and he won his third Filmfare Best Actor Award for his role as a stage director who falls in love with one of his new actresses.
In 1998, Shahrukh Khan starred in Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which was the biggest hit of the year. His performance won him his fourth Best Actor award at the Filmfare. He won critical praise for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Dil Se, in which he played the part of Aman Verma, an All India Radio correspondent who falls deeply in love with a mysterious woman terrorist, played by Manisha Koirala. Though popular with critics, the movie failed financially in India, however, it was a commercial success overseas. becoming the first Indian film to enter the top 10 in the United Kingdom box office charts. 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 as a college teacher won him his second Critics Award for Best Performance. He also starred in Mansoor Khan's action film Josh. The film starred Khan as the tough leader of a Christian gang in Goa and Aishwarya Rai as his twin sister, and was also a box office success. In a positive review, Vinayak Chakravorty of Hindustan Times wrote that Khan "basks in his tailormade role, donning with panache the garb of a streetsmart tough." In that same year, Khan set up his own production house, Dreamz Unlimited with Juhi Chawla (see below). Both Khan and Chawla starred in the first movie of their production house, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. His collaboration with Karan Johar continued in 2001 with the family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham which was the second biggest hit of the year. He also received favourable reviews for his performance as Emperor Asoka in the historical epic, Asoka, a partly fictionalised account of the life of Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC).
In 2002, Shahrukh Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance, Devdas. This was the third Hindi movie adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's well-known novel of the same name, and surfaced as one of the biggest hits of that year. Khan also starred opposite Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the family-drama Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, which did well at the box office. In 2003, Khan starred in the moderately successful romantic drama, Chalte Chalte. That same year, he starred in the tearjerker, Kal Ho Naa Ho, written by Karan Johar and directed by Nikhil Advani. Khan's performance in this movie as a man with a fatal heart disease was appreciated. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and Bollywood's biggest hit in the overseas markets.
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| Shahrukh Khan |
In 2006, Shahrukh Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the fourth time with the melodrama Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. It did well in India and much more so in the overseas market, becoming the biggest Bollywood hit in the overseas market of all-time. His second release that year saw him playing the title role in the action film Don: The Chase Begins Again, a remake of the 1978 hit Don. The movie was a 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. The film was a major critical success. 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, and became India's highest grossing production ever up to that point. It earned him another nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. His 2008 release, the romantic drama Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was a box office success. His only 2009 release was Billu where he played film superstar Sahir Khan who is reunited with his childhood friend Billu played by Irrfan Khan.
2010s
Shahrukh Khan's next film was My Name Is Khan, his fourth collaboration with director Karan Johar and the sixth movie in which he is paired with Kajol. Filming commenced in December 2008 in Los Angeles and ended in October 2009. While on one shoot in Los Angeles, along with his wife Gauri and director Karan Johar, he took a break from filming to attend the 66th Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles, on 11 January 2009, where he was introduced as the King of Bollywood. Khan introduced Slumdog Millionaire, a movie he had previously turned down, along with a star from the film, Freida Pinto.
My Name Is Khan was released on 12 February 2010. Based on a true story, and set against the backdrop of perceptions on Islam post 11 September attacks, My Name Is Khan stars Khan as Rizwan Khan, a Muslim man suffering from Asperger syndrome who sets out on a journey across America on a mission to meet the country's President and clear his name. During a promotional visit to the United States, Khan was detained at Newark Airport, New Jersey because of the similarity of his last name to known terrorists. Upon release, the film received positive reviews from critics and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all-time in the overseas market. Shahrukh Khan won his eighth Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his portrayal, thereby joining Dilip Kumar as the record holder in this category. Jay Wesissberg from Variety wrote, "Khan uses the mannerisms associated with Asperger's -- averted eyes, springy steps, stuttered repetitions of memorized texts -- yet captures the personality beneath the condition in a standout performance sure to receive the Autism Society's gold seal of approval."
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| Shahrukh Khan |
