Hailed as the world`s biggest superstar and the King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan is a phenomenon like no other. From his humble beginnings as an outsider in a largely dynastic Hindi cinema to earning the numero uno position in the industry, his rise might seem like a fairytale; but is in fact a testament to the actor`s sheer talent, infectious energy and hard work. An incredible artistic journey that started with the 1989 tv series Fauji has continued to flourish for around three decades now, scaling dizzying heights of stardom and redefining Bollywood along the way.

With over 80 movies to his credit, countless national and international accolades, staggering box office receipts and an immense fan base spread across the globe, SRK remains one of the biggest icons of contemporary cinema. Some of his best known works include Baazigar (1993), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil Se (1998), Devdas (2002), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Swades (2004), Chak De! India (2007), My Name Is Khan (2010) and Zero (2018).

EARLY LIFE
Born on the 2nd of November, 1965 in New Delhi, Khan spent the first five years of his life with his maternal grandfather in Mangalore. He then moved back to New Delhi, where his family lived in rented apartments. Khan then joined St. Colombia`s School in New Delhi, where he excelled in both studies and sports such as football and hockey. He was also the recipient of his school`s highest award, the Sword of Honor.

Khan graduated from Hansraj College and earned a Bachelor`s degree in economics, however, he spent most of his time with Delhi`s Theatre Action Group (TAG). After his graduation, he pursued his master`s degree in mass communication from Jamia Millia Islamia, but left it midway to follow his acting career, and was subsequently mentored by the renowned theatre director and teacher Barry John.

Khan lived with his parents and sister, Shahnaz Lalarukh, in New Delhi. His father, Meer Taj Mohammed Khan, a Pashtun (Pathan) from Afghanistan, was an Indian Independence activist in Peshawar and was affiliated with the All Indian National Congress. His father moved to New Delhi in 1948 after the partition, and married Lateef Fatima, a Hyderabadi, in 1959. His father was diagnosed with cancer and died in 1981. His mother also passed away in 1991 after struggling with diabetes. Soon after the death of both their parents, his elder sister Lalarukh fell into depression, leaving Khan to take on her responsibility. She continues to live with him and his family in Mannat, his mansion in Bandra, Mumbai.

PERSONAL LIFE
Shah Rukh Khan met Gauri Chibber, his then girlfriend and now wife, for the first time at a party in 1984, when he was only 18 years of age. After six years of courtship, the two got married in a Hindu ceremony on the 25th of October, 1991. The couple has three children together. Aryan is the couple`s eldest son, born in 1997, followed by Suhana, who was born in 2000, and the latest addition to their family is AbRam, born in 2013, who was born through a surrogate mother.

ACTING CAREER
Shah Rukh Khan was first seen in popular TV series Fauji in 1989. Although he was supposed to make his television debut with Lekh Tandon`s show Dil Dariya, due to certain delays, Fauji marked Khan`s television career debut. Fauji not only helped him in getting public recognition but also led him to bag a role in Aziz Mirza`s Circus. Khan went on to act in various TV series, until his first Bollywood debut Deewana in 1992 as a second male lead starring along with Divya Bharti and Rishi Kapoor. Deewana was a box office hit and won him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. In the same year, movies such as Chamatkar, Dil Aashna Hai, and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman featured the actor in lead roles.

In 1993, Khan portrayed two of his most iconic anti-hero characters in Darr and Baazigar. He was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role for his portrayal of a dangerously obsessive lover in Darr, but lost to Paresh Rawal. However, Khan won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in Baazigar. In 1994, Khan also won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance for his role in comedy-drama Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. The same year, he was again seen portraying the role of an obsessive lover opposite Madhuri Dixit in Anjaam, for which he won the Filmfare Best Villain Award. While every actor only focused on bagging the protagonist`s role, Khan took risks, which cemented his place in the industry.

The biggest turning point in Khan`s career came with Aditya Chopra`s directorial debut Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, where he played the role of a romantic hero. The movie won Khan his second Filmfare Best Actor award, for his portrayal of Raj Malhotra. In the years that followed, Khan consistently delivered hits in various genres, among which were the action thriller Koyla (1997), the romantic comedy Yes Boss (1997), the romantic musical Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), the romantic drama Dil Se (1998) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998).

In 2000, Khan was cast alongside Amitabh Bachchan in Aditya Chopra`s Mohabbatein, in which he essayed the role of a music teacher, Raj Aryan Malhotra. He received his second Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for Mohabbatein. In the following year, Khan starred alongside an ensemble cast featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor in Karan Johar`s family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), which became the highest grossing Indian movie of the year.

In 2002, he portrayed the titular role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali`s rendition of the classic period romance Devdas, which was Bollywood`s most expensive movie at that time. He received the Filmfare Best Actor Award for Devdas. Khan then donned the role of Aman Mathur, a cancer-stricken young man, in Karan Johar`s Kal Ho Na Ho, where his performance received a lot of critical acclaim. Between 2000 and 2004, Khan was the undisputed king of the box office, as all his releases - Mohabbatein (2000), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Devdas (2002), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and Veer-Zaara (2004) - became the highest grossing Indian films of their respective years. He repeated the feat yet again in 2007 with Om Shanti Om, which was also the debut movie of popular actress Deepika Padukone.

While enjoying enormous box office clout over the years, Khan has also delivered some stellar performances in some critically acclaimed offbeat movies, among which are his turn as the NASA scientist Mohan Bhargav in Swades (2004), disgraced hockey player Kabir Khan in Chak De! India (2007), the autistic Rizwan Khan in My Name is Khan (2010) and the obsessive admirer Gaurav Chandna in Fan (2016). The romantic comedy Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), the action thriller Don (2006) and its sequel Don 2 (2011); the romantic drama Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) and the action comedy Chennai Express (2013) are a few of his other mainstream super hits since the turn of the century.

More recently, the actor was seen in the coming-of-age drama Dear Zindagi (2016), where he essayed an unconventional yet highly insightful psychologist named Jehangir Khan; and the crime drama Raees (2017), where he was portrayed the titular role of a bootlegger with grey shades. These were followed by the romantic comedy Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017), which proved to be a disappointment both critically and commercially. The romantic comedy-drama Zero was Khan`s sole release in 2018, where he portrayed a vertically challenged man whose life takes an interesting turn after meeting two women with contrasting personalities. He then appeared in Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022), Laal Singh Chaddha (2022), Brahmastra (2022), Pathaan (2023), Jawan (2023) and Dunki (2023).