Birthday Love: Five iconic SRK roles that won our hearts
Known all over the world as ‘King Khan’, ‘The King of Romance’ or ‘The Badshah of Bollywood’, Shah Rukh Khan is a name that has become synonymous with the Indian entertainment industry. With a career spanning over 27 years and an appearance on over 80 films, today he stands as one of the biggest superstars in the world. An actor par excellence, a performer beyond perfection and an individual of utmost class and charm, SRK has been ruling innumerable hearts across the globe for years.
Khan is the recipient of the maximum number of Filmfare Awards and has been awarded Padma Shri in the year 2005. He has also been conferred with the Order of the Arts and the Letters and Order of the Legion of Honour from France in 2007 and 2014, respectively. As the superstar turns 54, BizAsiaLive.com takes a look at five of his iconic roles among numerous such others:
Raj in ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ (1995)
Considered to be the film that established Shah Rukh Khan as the ‘King of Romance’ and marked the beginning of his journey of super stardom, SRK as the iconic Raj Malhotra won millions of hearts across the globe. Aditya Chopra’s debut with Khan not only earned critical and commercial success but turned out to be the Indian film with maximum days of theatre run of all time. Raj was all about boyish charm, sparkling eyes, and dimpled smiles. None could have brought the character alive with the perfection that Khan did. Every shade of Raj’s full of life, fun-loving, romantic, and delightful personality was perfected by him. Raj was the blend of mischief and morals and it was with these traits he became the ultimate ‘Prince Charming’ for many. Khan gained his ground in the industry and became the epitome of love and romance. That role also earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor, the second time in the category.
Devdas Mukherjee in ‘Devdas’ (2002)
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s adaptation of the classic novel had Khan in the leading role. With this being the third version of the film in Bollywood, there was a lot Khan had to carry on his shoulders. Yet he once again proved his mettle by giving one of the finest performances of his lifetime. Nobody could have essayed the tragic journey of the protagonist the way he did. He brought out the character’s playfulness, romanticism, love, loss, pathos, and tragedy with sheer finesse and panache. Such fine is his craft that he made the audience feel every inch of the raw emotions that his character felt. Khan’s Devdas meets his tragic end towards the closure of the film but remains immortalized in the heart of every audience who gave this film a watch.
Kabir Khan in ‘Chak De! India’ (2007)
One of his most loved roles throughout his journey in Bollywood, Khan appeared as the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team in this sports drama. He once again stole the show with his effortless performance and by completely getting into the skin of his character. Khan’s portrayal of Kabir’s strict mentorship, his motivating speeches, his passion, failure, struggles, pain, tragedy, and his ultimate pride and glory remains impactful to the day. Such beautiful is Khan’s acting in bringing out the various layers of his character on-screen that towards the climax of the film, the audience is bound to cheer for the character as he cheers for his team’s ultimate victory. Khan bagged a Filmfare Award, IIFA Award, Zee Cine Award, Screen Award, and Guild Award, all in the category of Best Actor and Lead Role for his role in the film.
Rizwan Khan in ‘My Name Is Khan’ (2010)
Perhaps one of the most remarkable deliveries by Khan of all time, the Karan Johar drama saw him portray the role of a man suffering from Asperger’s syndrome. The journey of Khan’s character, Rizwan has been traced throughout the course of the film and he has only shined through every frame. As Rizwan’s character undergoes every pain, confusion, struggle and sets on a quest to prove his innocence, Khan’s brilliance oozes out on-screen. From Rizwan’s dialogue delivery to his expressions, Khan carried out everything with utmost perfection. With this film, Khan’s acting prowess was highly appreciated and he was praised by critics and viewers alike. He has yet another Filmfare Award as well as a Zee Cine Award, IIFA Award, and the Global Indian Film Honours Awards for Best Actor to his credits for his performance, all of which he very rightly deserved.
Gaurav Chandna/Aryan Khanna in ‘Fan’ (2016)
One among his recent chain of works, Maneesh Sharma’s film may not have generated great numbers inside the country but Khan’s performance was once again critically acclaimed. Khan was known for playing double roles on various movies earlier but this certainly was his best shot at the genre after years. He plays both the star and the fan in the film and nails both of them with their own flavour. Moreover, when Khan is given an eccentric psychological character to deal with, he brings out his game in the best possible way. Aryan Khanna seems very much a part of Khan himself but it is Gaurav, the fan, who steals the limelight. The audience is amazed at how Khan makes them feel eerie about the extreme obsession and strange behavioural patterns of his character yet evoke certain sympathy for the same person.
BizAsiaLive.com wishes the King of million hearts and the Badshah of Bollywood, a very happy birthday and hopes he continues to rule the same in forthcoming years.
By Varsha Roy
