Back with a bang
By many metrics, he’s the most popular movie star in the world. But if you live outside of the Indian diaspora, you may not have ever heard of the Baadshah of Bollywood. We’re here to rectify that.
In 2023, Shah Rukh Khan reminded us all why he was christened King Khan in the first place. SRK, as he’s widely known, had three releases in the last year, and two of them went on to become the biggest hits of his illustrious 33-year film career. In fact, they’re the two biggest Bollywood movies ever, after Aamir Khan’s Dangal.
Khan has always been a pioneer of sorts, be it playing the anti-hero when his peers only took on the roles of sweet, romantic leads, or bringing top-notch VFX to India with or dancing at weddings for side income. But the last few years haven’t been as kind. His films weren’t the mega-hits he was delivering a decade ago. Some of the more experimental ones like Fan (2016) and Zero (2018) flatlined at the box office, and drew flak from critics and audiences alike. And then of course, covid was devastating to the industry as a whole.
But his recent bout of success, Khan has brought all screens—multiplexes, single screens, and TV, phone, and laptop screens—to life. And while some of the success can be attributed to savvy distribution, much of SRK’s banner year is an indicator that the man’s sheer starpower is brighter than ever.
Open your heart. You’re about to become a big, big fan.
A reel-life hero
Famous for his candor, SRK has been flying under the radar during the rise of the Hindutva ideology in the Modi era.
In October 2021, when his son Aryan Khan was arrested during a drug raid, repeatedly denied bail, and eventually acquitted, the superstar maintained a notable silence throughout. In the meantime, his mere mention on TV channels and newspaper headlines was enough to serve as the ultimate distraction to everything going on—and going wrong—in India, from border tensions with China to the country’s covid mismanagement.
Khan knows his strongest medium was, is, and will be the silver screen. In Pathaan, Jawan, and Dunki, he plays an intelligence officer, an army-man-turned-vigilante, and a former soldier–simply put, a patriot. In Jawan, he even broke the fourth wall to call upon India’s 1.4 billion population to ask questions and vote smart.
The box office numbers are testament to the fact that the public is on Khan’s side. “Some of you may have not even liked [the movies]. But I know deep down inside you came there to support me and my family. So, I bow down to you and thank you for bringing cheer to my family, my children and my loved ones,” he said in his acceptance speech when he won CNN-IBN’s “Indian of the Year” title earlier this month. “I thank you for making me the star that I am yet again.”
Going off-script, he added, “I’ve been the Indian of all the years gone by. And I’ll be the Indian for all the years to come. I am, actually, ladies and gentlemen, the Indian for all ages.”
By the digits
33: Years Shah Rukh Khan has featured in films, since starring in his 1992 debut movie Deewana.
Rs1,152 crore ($139 million): Khan’s second release of 2023, Jawan, goes on to become the highest-grossing film of his career to date. His first release, Pathaan, is the second-highest grosser in his filmography with a worldwide collection surpassing Rs1,000 crore as well.
Rs280 crore ($34 million): Khan’s estimated yearly earnings from movies—for which he charges between Rs40-50 crore, and participates in profit-sharing—brand deals, investments, and social media earnings.
$770 million: Khan’s net worth, placing him in fourth place in a January 2023 ranking of the eight richest actors in the world. He beat Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Jackie Chan, and George Clooney.
3.2 billion: People who knew Khan in a 2007 survey—way more than the 2.7 million that knew Tom Cruise, making him (objectively) more popular. One can presume the number’s gotten a lot bigger over the last 17 years, with the internet blurring borders.
$1.1 billion: The value of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket team Khan co-owns with actor Juhi Chawla.
3: Cricket teams SRK owns in addition to the widely-known KKR, which play in overseas cricket leagues—the Los Angeles Knight Riders play in Major League Cricket, Abu Dhabi Knight Riders play in International League T20, and Trinbago Knight Riders in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League.
Quotable
“I am the last of the stars.”
—Shah Rukh Khan during The Anupam Kher Show in July 2014
The money ads up
King of commercials
Khan’s star power extends well beyond the silver screen. And it’s not just in ideology—a secular India—but also in aspiration.
Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it felt like Khan was in every other TV commercial that would play. He endorsed Pepsi alongside other Bollywood superstars like Rani Mukerji and Kajol. He’s been the face of ICICI bank, online grocery giant BigBasket, embattled ed-tech startup Byju’s, phone brand Nokia, home furnishings company D’Decor, and many more. He was even a rare “Lux girl,” featuring in a bathtub ad for the soap typically endorsed by Bollywood’s female stars like Hema Malini, Aishwarya Rai, and Kareena Kapoor.
This last blockbuster-filled year has brought Khan back in the ads limelight. He has added 10 brands to his endorsement kitty, including detergent company Tide, smartphone brand Realme, and fashion e-commerce platform Myntra.
Harkening back to the ads of years gone by, the superstar quotient in some of the commercials runs high. For instance, the Everest Spices ad also features veteran Amitabh Bachchan, and the Rungta Steel spot co-stars A-list actors Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor.
Pop quiz
What number plate do all of SRK’s vehicles have?
- 123
- 666
- 789
- 555
Find the answer below, but don’t cry if you get it wrong—we can’t all know everything.
Fun fact!
Maratha Mandir, a single-screen cinema hall in Mumbai, has been screening the iconic film starring SRK and Kajol Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge continuously since its release—barring an unwitting lockdown break—for 28 years now!
Watch this!
Living with a Superstar—Shah Rukh Khan
The TV docuseries, now on Amazon Prime Video, follows Khan and his family in Mumbai, at their holiday home in London, and more. It’s a glimpse at SRK’s life at what’s considered the peak of his career—and it’s a time period that predates omnipresent paparazzi and all-consuming social media, making it all the more fascinating.
Poll
How many Shah Rukh Khan movies have you seen?
- A couple
- A few dozen
- All 100ish of them
- I have yet to have the pleasure, but I will get right on it
Tell us where you are in your SRK journey—it’ll just take a second.
An SRK primer for the uninitiated
Want to become a King Khan fan but not sure where to start? Clear your cal (Bollywood movies tend to top three hours) and get your remote (Netflix has a lot of these ready to go).
- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
- Kal Ho Naa Ho
- Baazigar
- Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
- Chak De! India
- Swades
- Main Hoon Na
- Don
- Dear Zindagi (a cameo, but so good!)
- Pathaan
💬 Let’s talk!
In last week’s poll about synthetic memories, 84% of you said you would store an AI printout of one of your memories along with your treasured mementos and keepsakes.
🤔 What did you think of today’s email?
💡 What should we obsess over next?
Today’s email was written by Ananya Bhattacharya (who has seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai more times than years she’s lived) and edited by Susan Howson (whose gateway SRK flick was Dil Se).
The correct answer to the quiz is D. 555. Khan believes 555 brings him good luck, and the number features across all his cars–including the recent addition, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge. In numerology, 555 represents transformation and adventure.