Career
As Actor
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 Shah Rukh's career goes to the superstar himself.
”
Khan started his acting career in 1988 by appearing in the television series,
Fauji, playing the role of Commando Abhimanyu Rai.He went on to appear in several other television serials, appearing most notably in the 1989 serial, Circus (directed by
Aziz Mirza), which depicted the life of circus performers. The same year, Khan also had a minor role in the
made-for-television English movie,
In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones, which was based on life at Delhi University and was written by
Arundhati Roy.
After the death of his parents, Khan moved from
Gurgaon to
Mumbai in 1991. He made his Bollywood movie debut in
Deewana (1992). The movie was 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, Khan won acclaim for his performances as a murderer and an obsessive lover, respectively, in the box office hits,
Baazigar and
Darr. He won his first
Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Baazigar. His role as a young musician in
Kundan Shah's
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa earned him a
Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.
In 1994, Khan once again played an obsessive lover/psycho's role in
Anjaam. Though the movie was not a box office success, Khan's performance earned him the
Filmfare Best Villain Award.
In 1995, Khan starred in
Aditya Chopra's directorial debut
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a critical and commercial success, 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 for Khan as all his movies released that year flopped. His first 1997 release,
Yash Chopra's
Dil to Pagal Hai, however, became that year's second highest grossing movie. Later that year, he saw success with
Subhash Ghai's
Pardes -- one of the biggest hits of the year-- and
Aziz Mirza's
Yes Boss.
In 1998, Khan starred in
Karan Johar's directoial 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. This movie did not do well at the Indian box office, but was a commercial success overseas. Khan's only release in 1999,
Baadshah, was an average grosser.
In 2000, Khan starred in
Aditya Chopra's second film,
Mohabbatein, co-starring
Amitabh Bachchan. The film did well at the box office, and Khan's performance won him his second
Critics Award for Best Performance at the
Filmfare. He then starred in
Mansoor Khan's
Josh, which was a box office success too. 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.
In 2001, Khan collaborated onwith
Karan Johar in the family drama movie,
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. It was the second biggest hit of the year. Later that year, he received favorable reviews for his performance as Emperor
Asoka in the historical epic,
Asoka.
In 2002, Khan received acclaim for playing the title role in
Sanjay Leela Bhansali's award-winning period romance,
Devdas. It 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.
[28] That same year, he performed in the romantic drama movie,
Kal Ho Naa Ho, written by Karan Johar and directed by
Nikhil Advani. The audience received well Khan's performance in this movie as a man with heart disease. The movie proved to be one of the year's biggest hits in India and the biggest Bollywood hit overseas.
2004 was a good year for Khan, commercially as well as critically. He starred in
Farah Khan's directorial debut,
Main Hoon Na. The movie did well at the box office. He then played the leading role of Veer in
Yash Chopra's
Veer-Zaara, which was the biggest Bollywood 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.
Khan's only movie release in 2005 was the fantasy film,
Paheli. It was a box office failure, but won him acclaim.
In 2006, Khan collaborated with Karan Johar for the melodrama movie,
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 ever. His second release in that saw him playing the title role in the action film
Don, a remake of the 1978 hit
Don. The movie was a success.
Khan's first release in 2007 was the sports movie,
Chak De India. He received good reviews for his performance as the coach of a girl's hockey team. The movie started low at the box office, but became one of the year's biggest hits. Khan's latest movie,
Om Shanti Om (released on
November 9,
2007) has taken an excellent start both in India and overseas and was declared a blockbuster.
As a Producer
Khan has also produced some of the films he has starred in but has had mixed success as both the producer and the star of his films. 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 him, has done very well at the box office.
As Television Host
Khan was chosen 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?, in
2007 taking over from the original host
Amitabh Bachchan who had hosted the show from 2000 to 2005. On Monday, January 22, 2007, "Kaun Banega Crorepati" aired with Khan as the new host. The season ended on
July 29 2007.