Shah Rukh Khan : Bollywood's Biggest Boy

One year. Two movies. Three, if you count a special appearance. And the crores haven’t stopped adding up. He’s never had a godfather in the industry. He has successfully stepped into the shoes of India’s biggest superstar, while the gossip mills have gone into overdrive about their rivalry. He has led a team of Indian women hockey players to such a convincing onscreen victory ( Chak De! India ) that the government has had to sit up and take notice.

Three months later, he won over the hottest young thing on the screen today, and set the box-office ablaze with Om Shanti Om . Somewhere in between, he also balle balled to Dil Da Mamla for buddy Sajid’s debut film. Can Shah Rukh Khan be anything but the betaaj badshah of Bollywood. “Conviction, honesty and commitment — Shah Rukh has them all,” says movie critic Indu Mirani. “Whatever role he chooses to play, he gives it his all. That’s what makes SRK so special,” she adds.

“Overseas, he’s a lottery. In the multiplexes, he’s an entertainer... Though the majority of SRK’s big banner films don’t work in the interiors, he still manages to command mass appeal,” says Delhi distributor Sanjay Mehta.

Director’s cut - “His personality and charisma can light up a room and, more often than not, he has the audience eating out of his hand. Yet, Shah Rukh is humble as well as meticulous,” says Chak De ! India director Shimit Amin. “Having done theatre, TV and offbeat films, his range of roles is ever expanding. And every time he’s giving a shot, it’s evident that he’s done his homework.” No wonder he tops the class this year, every year.

Anubha Sawhney, TimesOfIndia