Shah Rukh Khan's 'London Dreams'

Here’s a piece of Shah Rukh Khan’s life in Hans Raj College. The actor dreamed of studying in LSE and spent hours outside Kirori Mal College hoping he would get some acting assignments just like ‘Amit ji’ did!

Actor Shah Rukh Khan is a Hans Raj College alumnus. He graduated in Economics and not many know that SRK wanted to study further after completing his graduation (but he took up acting instead). When we met him on one of his recent visits to the city, he told us, “I was very fond of Economics. I got 72 per cent marks and I personally think that was a good enough percentage. Post Hans Raj, I wanted to join the London School of Economics but that didn’t happen. But I tell all the people I meet to read and write as much as they can. I tell my kids – Aryan and Suhana– to read a lot, as it is studying and acquiring more knowledge all the time that helps one in the long run.”

What else does he remember of his days at Hans Raj – does he miss spending time in the canteen, like most other students do? “I remember going to the canteen but I have to admit that I wasn’t very social in college. But I do miss going to the canteen. I also miss my co-students and the hostellers’ fights. I was a keen sportsperson aur main bahut khelta tha. My favourite sport was football. I have fond memories of my bike too,” SRK
told us.

And his life in college wasn’t just about sports, he developed an avid interest in acting in college too. He said, “I remember, my friends and I used to go and stand outside Kirori Mal College. We used to stand there for hours and look at the building, its gate and at the students going in and out of the college and say, ‘Kaash koi humein bhi, Amit ji ki tarah filmon mein kaam de de.’”

He further recalls, “And in my time there used to be these races in college too. Hum university ke chakkar lagate the and I always used to win.”

If he’d not become an actor, SRK says he would’ve “either been a teacher or a Manchester United player – I know that for a fact!”