MUMBAI: On Saturday, November 2, 2013, thousands of
his fans waited outside his palace, “Mannat” from 12AM
onwards. And finally, Shah Rukh Khan appeared in the
balcony…

And what happened later? The pictures speak! Such was
Shah Rukh Khan’s 48th birthday celebration.

Truly, SRK Day. Here’s the making of this day; the making
of this one man – who rules billions of hearts around the
world. His weapon is love:
The Baadshah of Bollywood . King Khan . Young Dilip
Kumar . King of Romance . Shah Rukh Khan, fondly known
as SRK , has so many different titles bestowed lovingly
upon him. Universally adored the world over, Shah Rukh
Khan, the man himself, is nothing short of the Bollywood
dream…

A rank outsider, Shah Rukh Khan came to Bombay to
become a Bollywood hero, but ended up ruling the
industry. Delivering back-to-back blockbusters ever since
his debut film ‘Deewana’ , there has been no stopping this
energetic tour de force. SRK began his career with TV,
acting in super hit serials ‘Fauji’ and ‘Circus’ . Having a
solid foundation in acting thanks to Barry John’s ‘Theatre
Action Group’ or ‘TAG’ in Delhi, Shah Rukh was no
stranger to histrionics.

From early on in his career, he was both applauded as
well as criticised for having an exuberant, almost
exaggerated screen persona. But nothing stopped Shah
Rukh Khan’s boundless enthusiasm and visible passion
for the arts. He made wise decisions from very early on in
his career: for instance, he picked up negative roles very
on; when he agreed to play the role of an obsessive lover
in Yash Chopra’s ‘Darr’ in 1993, and an ambitious rookie
who avenges the injustice meted out to his family in
Abbas-Mustan’s ‘Baazigar’ .

Going against the grain, SRK was appreciated for his
portrayal in both roles. Having gotten action and villainy
out of the way from very early on, SRK was left to play the
role of a conventional romantic hero, the trope that has
sustained throughout his career. His very first out-and-
out romantic hero role, contrary to popular belief, was not
the Aditya Chopra directorial ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le
Jaayenge’ (1995) but a little known romantic dramedy
‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’ . However, ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le
Jaayenge’ admittedly did mark a turning point in his
career and life.

Shah Rukh Khan was no longer the middle-class boy-
next-door from Delhi, he became an overnight superstar!
FUN FACT: ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge’ is also the
longest Hindi film till date (17 years and counting! It still
plays at morning shows in Mumbai’s famed Maratha
Mandir theatre) Shah Rukh Khan replicated the success of
‘DDLJ’ in several of his subsequent films like Subhash
Ghai’s ‘Pardes’ , ‘Yes Boss’, Karan Johar’s ‘Kuch Kuch
Hota Hai’ and ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ , Sanjay Leela
Bhansali’s magnum opus ‘Devdas’ , Yash Raj’s ‘Dil Toh
Pagal Hai’ . He played a more intense, smouldering
version of the Rahul/Raj typecast in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Dil
Se…’ , to much critical acclaim.

From 2004 onwards, Shah Rukh Khan really started
experimenting with his roles, as if to say: hey guys, now
that I’ve made it as a superstar, it’s time I explore what
excites me as an actor! Probably one of his most
challenging roles was playing a NASA scientist who
returns to his village in India, in Ashutosh Gowariker’s
sensitive homegrown indie ‘Swades’ . Khan also gave the
performance of his lifetime (cynical, brooding, inspiring,
broken.. human) in Shimit Amin’s non-starry film about
India women’s hockey ‘Chak De! India’ .

I like this man