Happy Birthday, ShahRukh Khan!
That’s right, the Badshaah (’King’) of Bollywood turns an unbelievable 41 today! ShahRukh Khan, who has been ruling hearts (and the box office) since Deewana was released in 1992, has earned his title through fifteen years of hard work. He has appeared in over 50 films, including hits such as Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham, Kabhi Haan, Kabhi Na, Dar, Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuchh Kuchh Hota Hai and Devdas, among many others. His Hindi-language film Paheli (’Riddle’) was India’s entry for the Oscar foreign film category last year.
In some ways, however, Khan does not resemble a typical Bollywood star, as many of them living in the Mumbai area are famous for their wild birthday celebrations. “I am a reticent person,” Kahn confessed. “So there will be no party.”
Instead, he has planned to begin his birthday with an ultra-glamorous swing by his children’s school to drop them off! Other birthday activities include catching up on movies, working out, “fixing things at home,” and reading. This day of relaxation is a self-conscious choice for the star, who delayed a trip to Australia in order to spend his birthday at home with family and friends.
The one thing we can assume he won’t be doing is working on his personal story, because he purportedly finished writing his autobiography recently! Don’t look for it on the shelves anytime soon, though; with other third-person books about Khan on the market, he has explained that he’s in no rush to publish the manuscript. “My book is ready…I have it in my computer,” he explained, before adding: “Other people have beaten me to it.”
And the future? Khan is not concerned with where he will be in another decade. “I only see one hour ahead. I don’t think about the future. For me, the magic lies in the moment,” he said.
Our guess, of course, is that he will continue to charm audiences throughout his life. To take a cast an eye over the past fifteen years of King Khan’s work, check out the IndiaTimes Movies section, which has compiled favourite lines along with lesser-known facts in commemoration of his birthday.